It is nothing new for the residents of Villapiedra to be greeted by piles of rubbish abandoned on the kerbside outside the urbanisation for days, and sometimes even weeks on end. But the situation has now become so desperate that many complain of a plague of rats roaming freely in the area, feeding off the rubbish, and even entering several of the homes in the area.
Two of the residents suffering from the rodents have even had to replace their entire fiber optic system in their home after the rats gnawed through the cables.
The situation is much the same across a number of neighbouring urbanisations, particularly in Cabo Sol, San José and Lomas de Cabo Roig, where there was also said to be a plague of insects.
Despite repeated appeals, emails and telephone calls, to the Orihuela Council, the situation has remained the same for many months.
As one resident said, however, “If the rubbish was collected on a regular basis we wouldn’t have the problem, so we need the councillor responsible for the collection of waste to deal with the matter and ensure that the garbage is regularly away.”
Meanwhile CLARO’s Antonio Cerdán said, “The garbage and other dumped belongings have been there for more than a month.”
After appearing in the press the councillor for Health, José Galiano, has said that he will meet with the residents to ensure that the problem is dealt with.
However, while the residents blamed the council for the accumulation of the waste, one Facebook post said, “Look it ain’t that bad just get your heads together and get it removed? At the moment the authorities have plenty to deal with. Get a skip, it would be full in minutes, dead easy.”
Lindsay Hubber, meanwhile, came out in defence of the residents writing, “This is just along from our place. I’m no expert but it seems the location of the bins makes it easier for fly tippers. Wide road, not directly overlooked by properties, three access points by road. The rubbish tends to be builders waste, furniture and cardboard boxes. Similar waste gets dumped further down the same road near to the two builders merchants, probably for the same reason of access.”
