Residents protest against proposed macro-landfill in Zarra

• Residents of the Ayora Valley have protested in Valencia against a proposed macro-landfill in Zarra, citing severe environmental and safety threats.
• The project developer, Treco Gestión de Residuos S.L., is accused of being a shell company with no experience, minimal capital, and no employees.
• Local governments and residents have filed formal objections, highlighting risks to the water table, fire hazards, and traffic disruption.

Project Scope and Concerns

• Capacity: The facility aims to process 1,500 tons of waste daily, totaling 390,000 tons annually.
• Structural impact: Plans involve excavating 13.5 meters into the ground and creating waste mounds up to 40 meters high in a protected landscape area.
• Safety risks: Daily transit of heavy trucks through residential areas, including near schools and sports facilities, creates risks of pollution, noise, spills, and accidents.

Questions Regarding the Developer

• Corporate status: Activists report the company is registered to a law firm address with a capital of only €3,000.
• Lack of expertise: There is no evidence the company possesses the technical or financial capacity to manage one of Spain's five largest waste facilities.
• Suspicion: Residents believe the project may be an attempt to secure environmental permits simply to sell the company at a profit.

Community and Political Opposition

• Regional consensus: Every local municipality in the Ayora-Cofrentes Valley, along with Requena, is firmly opposed to the development.
• Legal action: The Naturalist Association of Ayora and the Valley (ANAV) has submitted a 90-page document of legal and environmental arguments against the project.
• Water security: The Jarafuel and Ayora municipal councils and local irrigation communities have formally appealed to the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation to protect the local aquifer from contamination.