Thousands of tyres removed from Campos del Río after decades of illegal dumping

The regional government has cleared 456 tonnes of tyres and other waste from the La Llana area

The La Llana natural area in Campos del Río, close to the Sierra de Espuña, has finally been cleaned up after nearly 20 years of illegal tyre dumping. The regional government removed 456 tonnes of tyres and other scrap, finally clearing up the area after years of neglect.

Juan María Vázquez, the Regional Minister for Environment, visited the area to see the results and called the clean-up “historic” for the town.

“This finally solves a problem that’s been hanging over the community for far too long,” he said.

The clean-up cost around €190,000, covered 453 tonnes of tyres, from cars, trucks, farm and industrial vehicles, and 3 tonnes of other waste. While tyres aren’t technically hazardous, Vázquez warned they can be dangerous if left around, as they don’t break down naturally and could feed fires.

Workers first sorted and stacked the tyres and scrap, before sending everything to authorised centres for proper recycling. The whole process was closely monitored to make sure it met environmental rules.

The waste goes back to the mid-2000s, when a company called Tsunami Recycling stored tyres and scrap without permission. The regional government eventually shut it down and demanded that the site be cleared.

With the tyres gone, La Llana can finally start to recover, and for the residents, it’s the end of a long-running problem. 

Images: CARM