Verdemar Ecologistas en Acción has warned of airborne dust emissions from the La Utrera FYM quarry and the HC Hormigones plant, at the entrances to the municipalities of Casares and Manilva. In a statement, the group stressed that «the facts are alarming and the dust in suspension can be seen from kilometres away at the Manilva-Guadiaro toll (A-7) Mediterranean Motorway».
For this reason, they have asked the Junta de Andalucía for «reviews of compliance with the authorisations», as «we believe they are not being complied with and these events are affecting the health of citizens and the environment». In addition, they recalled that Verdemar Ecologistas en Acción has been asking Casares Town Hall for documentation on the legal status of the quarries in the municipality since August 2022, «and they do not reply; however, it signs agreements with those responsible for the quarry to launch projects of cultural, social and sporting interest for the municipality, when it should be demanding that they comply with municipal regulations. The impact on the Sierra de la Utrera is significant and we do not see a restoration process».
The statement went on to insist that «the HC Hormigones plant in the municipality of Manilva and the La Utrera quarry must, before starting operations, obtain the municipal activity licence, regulated by the old Regulation on Nuisance, Unhealthy, Noxious and Hazardous Activities, RAM, approved by Decree 2114/1961 of 30 November, and still applicable in many autonomous communities, and go through environmental procedures that we are going to request», they explained.
