A dozen people blocked access for trucks to the General d'Olis i Derivats plant, in les Borges Blanques, this Thursday, in protest against emissions and bad odors that Ipcena and the platform Aturem la incineradora de Juneda denounce. The company is dedicated to the extraction of olive pomace and maintains that it complies with current regulations.
The mobilization comes after years of complaints about a problem that, according to the groups, has worsened while the plant's activity exceeded the authorized limits for olive pomace production. That is the main accusation of the entities, which demand sanctions and a reduction in emissions, considering that they affect the health of residents in several municipalities in les Garrigues.
The entities took the complaint to the Ombudsman and the OGAU this month
Ipcena and Aturem la incineradora de Juneda have submitted a complaint to the Ombudsman and also sent it this month to the Unified Environmental Management Office of the Departament de Territori. In that document, they request an administrative inspection of the company.
The request is based on complaints about odors that, according to the groups, come from Juneda, Castelldans, les Borges Blanques, and Arbeca. The territorial scope of these complaints is one of the arguments that the entities use to demand action from the administration.
The protest focused on truck access to the plant
During the concentration, a dozen people blocked the entrance of vehicles at the gates of the facility. The action sought to give visibility to a conflict that the platforms link to both the volume of production and the impact of odors in the immediate surroundings.
The groups maintain that olive pomace production has exceeded authorized limits in recent years. Based on this complaint, they demand that the administration impose sanctions and force a reduction in the plant's emissions.
For its part, General d'Olis i Derivats maintains that it complies with current regulations. The request registered this month before the OGAU asks for an administrative inspection due to the disturbances reported by residents of Juneda, Castelldans, les Borges Blanques, and Arbeca.