Six volunteers have removed 219 bags of rubbish from a one-and-a-half-kilometre stretch of the Sóller bypass. The initiative, which lasted twelve days, highlights the lack of coordination between the Consell de Mallorca and the Town Hall.
A half-dozen residents of Sóller have managed to remove 219 bags of rubbish from the verges of the bypass over a stretch of just one and a half kilometres. The action, carried out over twelve consecutive days, arose due to the inaction of public administrations, which are responsible for keeping the road clean.
The initiative was started by Alex Sarso, who made a call for volunteers through social media in May. Over the twelve weeks, the volunteers collected hundreds of kilos of waste of all kinds: tyres, wood, construction debris, a child’s chair, toys, fans, syringes, condoms, nappies, sanitary towels, and even two dead sheep in an advanced state of decomposition.
During the operation, several local businesses joined in to support the volunteers. The organisers assert that the aim was not to denounce but to reclaim a space for daily use by residents. However, the experience has highlighted that the persistence of a small group can achieve significant results, although they insist that this effort cannot replace the obligations of the competent authorities.
The bypass is owned by the Consell de Mallorca, while the maintenance and cleaning of the surrounding area fall under the responsibility of the Town Hall of Sóller. The cleaning promoters lament that it has been the citizens who have had to take on a task that belongs to the institutions, and they demand that both administrations stop shifting responsibility onto each other and establish a stable coordination mechanism to ensure the preservation of the road without relying on the goodwill of residents.
Looking to the future, the volunteers are preparing a proposal to present to the Sóller Town Hall with various locations where they believe new bins are necessary to reduce littering. Additionally, they propose to launch a poster competition involving local educational centres, so that the students themselves can create environmental awareness messages to be placed along the road.
The accumulation of rubbish on the verges of the bypass is not a new problem. Residents in the area have been complaining for months about the dirtiness and lack of cleaning by the authorities. The volunteers' action has temporarily reclaimed the stretch, but they warn that without regular maintenance, the situation will repeat itself.
For now, the six volunteers have demonstrated that citizen initiative can make a difference, but they remind us that the ultimate responsibility lies with the institutions. In the meantime, the residents of Sóller hope that the Town Hall and the Consell will heed their demands and put an end to what they consider neglect of the road.
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