The Municipality of Bergara annuls the urban report issued for the construction of a waste treatment plant
- The City Council of Bergara has annulled the urban compatibility report granted to the company Valogreene Paper BC SM for not matching the activity indicated for the preparation of the aforementioned report with the activity included in the project to obtain the integrated environmental authorisation, nor with the activity that was submitted to public information in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country on 23 September.
The company Valogreene Paper BC SM, located in the industrial estate Larramendi of Bergara, was provisionally authorised by the Bergara City Council last July to install an organic production plant of mineral load for the industry. However, by Mayor’s Decree of 2 November, the City Council has recently annulled the urban compatibility report granted to the company. The Municipal Government points out the main reasons for this decision: "The action indicated for the issue of this report does not correspond to the activity included in the draft integrated environmental authorisation, nor to the activity submitted to public information in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country on 23 September". In this respect, they have asked the company to re-submit the report on the activity it intends to develop. The company will therefore have to start processing from the outset.
The company Valogreene Paper BC SM presented in July an urban planning consultation in which it proposed to remove waste from stationery by pyrolysis and combustion. According to the Basque Department of the Interior, it is expected that at least 155,000 tonnes of paper waste will be managed at the Bergara plant per year, which the paper factories were destined for the Zaldibar landfill.
According to Urko Apaolaza in ARGIA, Ekologistak Martxan denounced that what they wanted to build in Bergara was another incinerator. "Members of this group have explained that one of the few differences in the pyrolysis system is that it generates less smoke. Furthermore, it will not eliminate waste, but will generate other waste, such as heavy metals, dioxins and furans, according to ecologists. Zero Wast, Gaia or Greenpeace Global Alliance Against Incineration also say the same thing: the pyrolytic system is so similar to incineration that we can call it incineration,” he explained.
Concerned about the collateral damage that would occur in the presence of an incinerator, several neighbours have presented at the Bergara City Hall various allegations about the construction of the plant for processing to the Department of the Environment of the Basque Government. According to Goiena’s calculations, there are 500 claims that have been submitted for the time being, although they are expected to reach 2,000 noon. As Europe Press has been informed of sources from the local institution, work will continue to be done to ensure that the plant is not built even though the town planning report has been overturned.
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