The Cabildo of Lanzarote, through the Ministry of Waste, headed by Domingo Cejas, has announced the work on the transformation of the Zonzamas Environmental Complex and the reinforcement of measures to reduce the dispersion of plastic bags and other waste towards the land near the facilities.
The current Corporation states that the so-called “sea of plastic” of Zonzamas "is not a new problem" and that "during the 2019-2023 term, there were numerous public complaints and media reports about thousands of bags and waste leaving the complex and ending up deposited on the nearby slopes".
"In May 2020, the situation was publicly described as a true “sea of plastic”; months later, the escape of light waste due to the wind was documented again; in January 2021, residents and environmental groups participated in clean-ups due to new accumulations; and in 2022, the bags flying out of Zonzamas continued to be spoken of as a problem known for years," they assure.
The Minister of Waste, Domingo Cejas, points out that “the archives allow us to verify that we are not facing a problem that has just appeared. The difference is that since 2023 we have decided to move from isolated actions to putting resources, personnel, investment, and planning on the table to face a problem that Lanzarote has been dragging for too long”.
Nearly 1.8 million to clean Zonzamas
From the Cabildo, they point out that the FDCAN Employment Plan 2023-2026 mobilizes 13.6 million euros and 158 workers for the care of the territory, including a specific service for the removal of plastics, debris, and waste in Zonzamas, endowed with nearly 1.8 million euros and 23 workers.
These figures, they say, "allow us to gauge the increase in effort specifically dedicated to this problem". For reference, the previous program “Cuidando Lanzarote” allocated 204,800 euros and 20 workers for the special waste collection, debris, and cleaning service in Zonzamas.
“Moving from a budget of just over 200,000 euros to allocating nearly 1.8 million euros to a specific service for Zonzamas demonstrates with facts what our priority is,” states Cejas. “It is not just about going to collect bags after a windy episode. It is about having workers and resources to maintain continuous action.”
Added to this is the decision adopted in the Contract Monitoring Commission held on July 28, which will allow increasing personnel dedicated exclusively to the interior cleaning tasks of the Environmental Complex. The objective is to also act within the facilities and reduce the presence of light waste susceptible to being dragged outside during certain treatment operations.
Act on the origin of the problem
The strategy developed since 2023 is not limited to cleaning, as they explain. The Cabildo is intervening in the facilities themselves to improve waste management and containment.
The Insular Governing Council agreed on May 4, 2026, to modify the contract for the management of the public waste treatment service in Zonzamas to carry out the actions planned in the project to improve the infrastructure and the integral fire protection system of the complex, the execution of which had been agreed upon in June 2025.
Among these actions is the transformation of the shredding area through the construction of bins that will allow for the proper reception, separation, and storage of different types of waste, as well as the improvement of the surfaces intended for vehicle traffic and the deposit and treatment of bulky waste.
These new structures will also contribute to protecting materials from the action of wind and, therefore, to reducing the risk of light waste dispersion.
The project also includes the enclosure of the current unloading area through a new shed attached to the sorting plant. This infrastructure will allow waste to be kept protected from the weather in situations such as breakdowns in the treatment line or moments of high concentration of deliveries from municipal collection services.
“We are acting where we did not act before: not only outside Zonzamas collecting the consequences, but inside the complex to reduce the causes,” highlights Domingo Cejas.
More control in waste entry and treatment
These investments are complemented by control measures on the delivery and acceptance of waste, especially in the shredding area.
The complex applies restrictive conditions for certain deliveries and may refuse waste when it does not meet the established requirements. These incidents are recorded by the service responsible for admission control and weighing at the Environmental Complex.
For the Ministry, the combination of increased surveillance, better storage conditions, new wind protection infrastructure, and more personnel dedicated to internal cleaning "will allow the risk of light materials ending up outside the enclosure to be progressively reduced."
A Master Plan to Transform the Model
The Cabildo has promoted more than 10 million euros in improvement and modernization actions for the Environmental Complex, including interventions on infrastructure, roads, treatment areas, leachate and rainwater networks, and fire protection systems.
The Cabildo has promoted the new Master Plan for Waste of Lanzarote and La Graciosa and its Prevention Program as a roadmap to order investments and define the needs of the Island for the coming years.
Added to this is the new composting plant, the works for which began in 2026 and which will allow up to 4,375 tons of organic matter and plant waste to be treated annually, as well as the planned investments for the modernization of the infrastructure, roads, leachate and rainwater systems, treatment areas, and fire protection of Zonzamas.
The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, highlights that "Zonzamas had been accumulating problems for too many years while structural solutions were postponed. Since 2023, we have been doing the exact opposite: investing, planning, reinforcing human resources, and transforming the facilities."
"The headlines from the previous legislature are there. In 2020, there was talk of a 'sea of plastic,' in 2021, complaints were repeated, and in the following years, the problem continued. We do not want to get used to these images or assume that they are an inevitable part of Zonzamas," he adds.
From the "Sea of Plastic" to Solutions
The Cabildo acknowledges that Lanzarote's climatic characteristics and the intensity of the wind "make it very difficult to guarantee that the escape of any light material can never occur." However, it considers that "there is a substantial difference between accepting the problem and developing a strategy to reduce it."
“There is work to be done and there will continue to be episodes in which we will have to act, but today we have more personnel, close to 1.8 million specifically assigned to the cleaning of Zonzamas, new actions within the complex, investments in infrastructure and a Master Plan that marks where we want to take waste management in Lanzarote,” says Cejas.
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