Calvia 2000 is a public company on the island of Mallorca. It is responsible for the collection of waste and dry mixed recyclables in the areas of Costa d’en Blanes, Illetes, Magaluf, Palma Nova, Peguera and Santa Ponca. These are all major tourist resorts and, therefore, large volumes of waste are produced. To maintain a high standard waste collection service across these areas, Calvia 2000 purchased five new waste collection vehicles from Geesinknorba Spain. The order included the purchase of one 11m3 11H22 narrow width unit mounted onto a Volvo FL 250 horsepower 4×2 16 ton chassis and is used for collecting waste and recyclables in areas where there is narrow access. One 15m3 15H25 standard width unit mounted onto a Volvo FE 280 horsepower 4×2 18 tonne chassis was also purchased. This is used for collecting waste and recyclables in areas where low levels of waste are produced. Three 22m3 22H25 units were purchased mounted onto Volvo FE 320 horsepower 6×2 rear steer 26 ton chassis for use in areas where large volumes of waste and recyclables need collecting.
All five units have been fitted with Geesinknorba’s GCB 1000 S3 bin lifting equipment which have DIN type trunnion lifting arms fitted, for the emptying of DIN 30700 type containers, as well as a comb bar for the emptying of DIN 30740 type containers. They are all fitted with Geesinknorba’s renowned ‘Smartpack’ system. This uses the minimum amount of fuel from the vehicle’s pump to operate the bin lift and compaction equipment, which improves fuel consumption. To ease driver fatigue, all of the new vehicles feature the Allison 3000 series automatic transmission. This helps in reducing maintenance costs in the stop and start work of waste collection.
The waste collection service in Calvia is operated through two waste collection shifts: 6am to 1pm and 1pm to 8pm. The service is provided seven days a week, collecting waste/recyclables in a number of ways. These range from 1100 liter four-wheeled containers, at communal collection points in the streets, to 240 liter two-wheeled containers used for the door to door collection of waste from restaurants, bars and hotels along the seafront. Cardboard tied up is also collected from restaurants, bars and shops in a separate vehicle which is manually loaded. Four waste and recyclable fractions are collected from hotels using the new vehicles. These include: organic waste stored in 240 liter containers, residual waste and recyclables (paper, cardboard, plastics and mixed steel/aluminum cans) collected in 1100 liter containers and hotels’ baled cardboard is loaded manually into the hopper of the new Geesinknorba vehicles.
Calvia provides 240 liter wheeled containers placed in beach areas for litter. These too are emptied by the new collection vehicles. Paper and cardboard are also collected in 1100 liter containers from industrial areas across the municipality serviced by the new vehicles.
Each of the new vehicles has a three-man crew, a driver and two operatives. The collection crew placed the 240 and 1100 liter containers onto the GCB 1000 S3 bin lifting equipment so that they can be emptied. Any excess waste is also cleared from communal collection points. In the summer months, extra containers are provided in tourist areas where large volumes of waste are produced. This prevents the spillage and piling up of waste next to full containers. Calvia rolls out a communication campaign during the tourist season to promote the source segregation of recyclables from the waste stream. This improves both Mallorca’s overall recycling rate and reduces Calvia’s waste management costs.
The waste and recyclables are delivered by Calvia 2000 to Tirme SA’S waste transfer station in Calvia, the largest waste transfer plant on the island. The new Geesinknorba vehicles discharge the residual waste fraction into one of three static Danima Marrel waste compactors where it is compressed into enclosed roll-on-off containers, holding 25 tons of waste. This is transported to TIRME’S800,000 tonnes per annum Son Reus waste-to-energy plant at Soller, near Palma for incineration/energy recovery.
Paper, cardboard, plastics, steel and aluminium cans are also compressed in one of the three compactors into enclosed roll-on-off containers. These materials are transported to TIRME’S waste recovery park at Soller, near Palma for baling and for onward transport to reprocessors. Calvia delivers the organic waste fraction collected by the new Geesinknorba vehicles directly to TIRME’S Biomethanisation treatment plant at Soller for composting.
In conclusion, Calvia 2000, is providing a sustainable waste collection service using their five new Geesinknorba GPMIV waste collection vehicles across the region. This is important for both residents and tourists in providing efficient waste collection services for both the present and the future.