The fire that broke out at the Insular Solid Waste Plant (PIRS) in Tenerife last Wednesday has reignited the debate over the management of the island’s main landfill. Although the fire, which originated in a storage area for compacted plastics and cardboard, was extinguished within hours thanks to the swift response from emergency services, criticism has quickly emerged.
José Luis Hervella, spokesperson for the Arico Somos Todos (AST) group, warned after meeting with a union leader from the company that manages the landfill that the incident “was not an isolated event,” but rather a consequence of poor management. “What happened confirms this. There is a worrying level of neglect,” he stated. He explained that deficiencies in maintenance and staffing “have been accumulating” over the past months, directly affecting the operation of the facility.
AST claims that currently, two of the three large compactors “are out of service,” which has “forced” operations to rely on a single, smaller machine. “This prevents proper sealing of the waste and creates a working surface that is increasingly saturated and difficult to manage,” Hervella explained, also highlighting the lack of personnel and accumulation of waste outdoors.
Particularly concerning, according to the group, is the situation on the southern flank of the landfill, near the Cantos Blancos del Sur quarry. They state that the waste there is uncompressed and not covered by the required layer of soil. “It poses a risk to occupational safety, public health, and the environment. It could have resulted in a disaster,” the spokesperson warned.
RESPONSE FROM THE GOVERNMENT
From the Cabildo of Tenerife, the Councillor for Sustainability, Blanca Pérez, and the Insular Waste Director, Alejandro Molowny, defended the management of PIRS and the emergency response yesterday, highlighting the effectiveness of the operation and the facility’s ability to continue functioning normally despite the fire.
“The speed and intensity of the response, as well as the foresight in daily waste management, ensured that all waste generated during the intervention was stored and treated without interruption,” they stated.
Regarding the state of the machinery, they acknowledged that “the machines are constantly undergoing maintenance and repair, which is normal,” but emphasised that “one of the larger compactors is already operational and the other will be back in one to two weeks.”
Moreover, Pérez announced that a fourth compactor will be added to the system in November.
In response to the criticism concerning waste accumulation, the Cabildo maintains that the facility has a safety plan in place, “as with any other industrial activity,” to address such incidents. “We work to maintain a buffer that allows us to continue managing waste even in an emergency,” they asserted.
In the view of the insular authorities, the events demonstrate that the management “has been effective.”
