Cortijo Rubbish Controversy

mot-rubbish-recycling-plant-02-onlThe fact that cortijo owners in the Motril area will have to pay 3-years’ back-tax for rubbish collections, as well as this year’s, has the opposition PP party up in arms.

According to the Spokeswoman for the PP and ex-Mayor, Luisa García Chamorro, the Town Hall will send out 2,700 bills. The total billed is around one-million euros because each cortijo will have to cough up 335 euros (110 euros for 2016 and 75 euros of each one of the previous years charged in arrears.)

“It’s absurd and illogical that people are being charged for a service which they are not receiving,” she said, adding, “what makes sense is that cortijo owners could take their rubbish to hoppers no more that 300 metres away. Instead they have to take it to places like Puntalón.”

Accordingly, the PP opposes the decision to charge for an non-existent service and are calling for the measure to be withdrawn, and that it should be put in motion when a collection service is available for cortijos but with only the subsequent current year being charged.

In the meantime Councillor Sánchez-Cantalejo commented, “People believe that the rubbish tax is for the having the rubbish collected outside their doors but it doesn’t work like that; the amount charged corresponds to the expense incurred through having to take the town’s rubbish up to the rubbish-recycling plant in Vélez de Benaudalla and where the town is charged for the processing by the tonne.”

He added, “As far as I know, people aren’t burying or burning their rubbish, therefore we have to charge them for this recycling service.” Finally, he pointed out that the Town Hall is only charging the minimum possible for 2013 to 2015 so as not to cause too much inconvenience to coritjo owners.

Editorial comment: Surprisingly, it was precisely PP who are now complaining that approved the original idea in a Plenary Meeting of the Town Council when they were in power.

For this reason it appears that by pointing out that fact the actual ruling party thinks that it can push it through whilst deflecting the flak onto the PP.

Councillor Sánchez-Cantalejo also conveniently forgets that people have always been charged for rubbish collection, long before the present rubbish-disposal system (recycling) was put into place.

Finally, while it is logical that if you put rubbish into municipal rubbish bins for disposal, you should contribute, albeit much less than those that have it collected from in front of their door. What is scandalous, however, is that the Town Hall is trying to charge arrears.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *