The local council will this week give a deep clean to the public footpaths all along the Cabo Roig Strip. Also much needed small waste bins will be installed and provision will be made to empty them regularly.
Extra larger bins for waste and recycling will be brought from Orihuela to help cope with the huge increase of waste generated during the busy summer tourist season on the coast. These decisions were made at a meeting organised by Pedro Mancebo of the Orihuela Chamber of Commerce between Damaso Aparicio local councillor for street cleaning and waste collection and members of the “Cabo Roig Strip Business Association” and “O.C. Avanza Business and Entrepreneurs Association”.
As a result of meetings held at the Chamber of Commerce in Orihuela with business owners in Cabo Roig, Pedro Mancebo organized an urgent meeting to discuss different issues affecting their businesses in Orihuela-Costa especially following warnings by the local police that glass and bottles could only be placed in bins up to 10pm.
This new rule would have caused great difficulties for bars and restaurants because of the sheer volume of waste that would need to be stored inside the bars and restaurants for long periods of time causing safety, health and other risks and maybe even fines from the health department. During the meeting the town hall representatives assured the business owners that the town hall concerns were about kitchen waste and domestic rubbish only being placed in the bins between 9pm and midnight.
The town hall made it clear that all recyclable materials such as glass and paper could be placed in the recycle containers at any time of day. In return the business owners said that they would dispose of glass and other waste in an effective and quiet manner to minimize the noise for neighbours.
Damaso Aparicio and the waste collection manager for the area also highlighted the need for a deep cleaning in the whole of the Cabo Roig area, especially on “The Strip” where thousands of tourists and residents walk every day. The image of this area concerns the business owners as they endeavour to keep the area tidy.
The town hall has promised to increase its efforts to keep the area property maintained. A campaign of deep cleaning of footpaths will occur every Monday and Friday until the end of the summer season. On behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, Pedro Mancebo pointed out that there are many other business areas in Orihuela Costa that need more attention from the Town Hall and he obtained the commitment from the councillor to address the problems everywhere. Future meetings will be held with business owners in different areas of Orihuela-Costa.
Also discussed were the illegal street traders who place their wares wherever they like, whereas the legal businesses are limited to certain small spaces that they need to pay the town hall for, in addition to all the other taxes that they pay.
According to the Chamber of Commerce these hundreds of illegal traders do not have permission to trade in the streets, they don’t have proper invoices for their goods and don’t pay any taxes or social security and they unfairly damage legal businesses and traders from the Thursday and Saturday Stall Markets.
These illegal street vendors hugely affects the good image of Orihuela-Costa in front of tourists and residents so this problem has been highlighted by the chamber of commerce to the Tourism Department run by Sofia Alvarez. The Cabo Roig Strip and OC Avanza Business Associations have requested a greater police presence in Orihuela Costa at least during July and August.
A local Chinese supermarket was also discussed because they do not flatten their cardboard boxes before putting them in the recycle bin and so they overflow the bins very quickly and leave no room for anybody else and they often use normal bins instead of the recycle ones. The meeting ended on a very positive note with everybody agreeing that next year a similar meeting could take place in the months before the busy summer season.
Raymond Kearney
