Ecological waste treatment on Ibiza

Driving towards Cala Llonga from Santa Eulalia you can see large structures on the distant hills. This is the new recycling plant at Ca na Putxa – the place where all of Ibiza’s rubbish is sent. The new plant began full operation in January 2021, and its mission is threefold: 1) to reduce the volume of garbage that is deposited in the landfill by 50%; 2) to keep the landfill free of biowaste (food and other plant-based rubbish); 3) turn the biowaste into bio-fuel that produces clean electricity. This operation will extend the life of the landfill for many years because all of the space that would have been used to dump biowaste will be available for other rubbish.
The main feature is a state-of-the-art triage plant that separates what can be used for bio-fuel from what must go to the landfill. Processing the biowaste produces up to three megawatts of electricity, which is enough to run all of the plant’s equipment plus a large surplus that is put back into the grid. In addition, 3,000 solar panels on the roof of the plant generate another 1.5 megawatts for the grid. There is also a process to convert sewage sludge (a by-product of the fuel production) into high-quality agricultural compost (1,500 tons per year) and stabilized organic material for agricultural uses (20,000 tons).