Spanish holiday island loved by Brits overwhelmed by piles of stinking rubbish

Residents in part of Majorcahave become overwhelmed by great piles of stinking rubbish.

Llucmajor, a district in the south of the Balearic island, has found itself facing Birmingham-levels of uncollected waste. Great mounds of mouldy food, household rubbish, and general gunk have been building up in the streets.

The roasting hot southern Spanish weather is making things worse, as the sun heats up the black sacks, turning them into putrid whiff bombs. This is a particular problem in a neighbourhood that is home to a large poultry farm, controversial not just because of the intense pong of hot chicken waste, but also due to allegations that the animals live in poor conditions.

"This is not an isolated case. We residents are tired of excuses and the lack of response. We demand immediate solutions," one resident told the Majorca Daily Bulletin.

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Others have complained that the situation is not new and that Llucmajor has suffered such unpleasantness for far too long.

PSOE spokesperson Jaume Oliver said: "In Arenal, the population doubles starting July 15 due to tourists and second-home residents. The town hall knows that the same thing happens every year, and yet they don't increase services. We are not ruling out taking legal action against the town hall."

Another resident blamed a "systematic failure of the waste collection service" for not dealing with the rubbish build-up. “With this heat, the smell is unbearable, and at night there are tons of rats. It's disgusting and scary," they told Crónica Balear.

"We have been experiencing collection failures for months, but what has happened in recent days has surpassed all limits."

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According to local reports, the council's contracts with waste collection companies expired in May. The town hall has said that there will soon be a tender for the service. "In the meantime, FCC is obliged to provide the service until a new contract is awarded. The company is having problems with trucks and sick workers. In some areas, it is using leased vehicles."

The situation in Llucmajor is similar to that in Birmingham, where residents are dealing with the consequences of more than 100 days of strikes by the city's refuse collectors.

The Mirror's Sanjeeta Bains visited Brum in June, stopping off at Balsall Heath, an inner-city area. There she found "a horrifying trail of stinking rubbish including food waste from local takeaways lying just yards from people’s front doors."

"Flies swarmed around half-eaten burgers and dirty nappies, and even after getting back in the car, there was no escaping the foul smell. I had to fight the urge to drive home and get straight into the shower. And to make things worse, brazen fly-tippers have been emboldened to take advantage of the council chaos."