News
Rincón is a wipes
pioneer
Rincón de la Victoria is to become a
pioneer in the fight against discarded
baby wipes which have been
responsible for blocking drains in
many towns and cities, resulting in an
estimated annual cost for clearing
them of €200 million. Last month, the
town presented its plan to tackle the
problem using artificial intelligence.
Mayor Francisco Salado and
Environment Councillor Sergio Díaz
gave details of how cameras will detect
the accumulation of solid waste in the
network of pipes. The project, named
iONWipes, is intended to improve
sanitation and optimise pumping
stations. It will also have a research and
development role in monitoring the
effects which rainfall and seasonal
factors have on the flow of waste water.
However, Mayor Salado stressed the
need to make the public aware of the
requirement to dispose of these wipes
in the correct way, “not only to avoid
negative economic consequences for
municipal coffers, but to protect the
environment.”
Some 717 metric tons of waste are
collected in the Axarquía’s treatment
plants annually, of which 370 tons was
used wipes, according to Sergio Diaz,
president of the Association of
Axarquía municipalities. He added that
this increases the costs of collecting
and handling rubbish, and called for
the region to become a leader in the
recycling and sanitation of its water
cycle.
New cream whisky
from Málaga
A new cream whisky made exclusively
with the milk of Málaga goats has been
launched on the drinks market. The
product, named Amaltis, was launched
commercially at a food fair in Málaga
last month and 2,000 bottles have
already been distributed.
The initiative originated at the
Agricultural Development Park north
of Vélez-Málaga where Gin Alborán
has developed the cream whisky in
conjunction with a businessman from
nearby Casabermeja. Reports say that
the drink has a very strong taste of
goats milk and can be drunk cold with
ice or mixed with hot coffee. Cream
whisky is more usually made with
cows’ milk.
Gin Alborán was formed four years ago
and produced the first 100 per cent
Málaga gin made in its distillery last
year. It comes in four varieties - citrus,
exotic, classic and strawberry –
retailing at around €14 per bottle, and
around 10,000 bottles have already
been sold, 40 per cent of which went to
the UK and Germany. The new cream
whisky is made entirely with goat’s
milk from Casabermeja, although
details of its production are a secret.
Banderas’ first
The goats from which the milk comes
belong to a breed which is unique to
the province of Málaga, and of which
there are around 300,000 animals
producing 80 million litres of milk and
some 300,000 kilos of meat a year.
Pricey Province
Second-hand car prices in the province
of Málaga are the highest in Andalucía,
according to new figures. The average
price during 2019 was €16,715,
compared with €13,914 in Granada
which was the cheapest of the eight
provinces in the region. Over 426,000
vehicles changed hands in Andalucía
last year of which 70% were diesel, 29%
were petrol and 58% were more than
ten years old.
Flamenco father
A video of a Málaga priest dancing
during mass has been watched by
almost half a million people on the
Internet. Father José Palmas’
performance was recorded at the city’s
Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles church
where he was accompanied by a local
Málaga choir. Father José says his
grandfather was a gypsy and dancing,
especially flamenco, has always been
natural in the family.
21
Málaga-born Antonio Banderas has
been nominated for the 2019 Best
Actor Oscar – the first nomination of
his career - for his performance in
Dolor y Gloria (Pain and Glory). The
movie, directed by Pedro Almodóvar,
has also been nominated in the Best
Foreign Film category and has already
won awards for Banderas and for Best
Soundtrack at the Cannes Film
Festival. The 92nd Academy Awards
ceremony will be held in Los Angeles
on February 9.
Fewer trees
The province of Málaga has 28 trees
per head of population, one of the
lowest figure in Spain according to
government figures. Spain has an
estimated 4,525 million trees at least
three metres tall and trunk diameter
at least seven centimetres, and the
highest tree-to-people ratios can be
found in Lleida, Girona, Barcelona
and Navarra. ly Sevilla, Cádiz,
Valladolid, Alicante and Las Palmas
have a lower ratio than Málaga.
Work continues
The work underway last month in
Nerja’s calles Castilla Pérez, Jaén and
Diputación was part of the final stages
in the construction of the town’s new
sewerage system. Meanwhile, work
continued at the eastern end of
Burriana beach where a pumping
station will send the town’s waste
water up to the treatment plant on the
road to Maro.
No driver
Málaga’s first driverless bus is likely to
start trials later this year, ferrying
cruise liner passengers between the
docks and the city centre. The 12-
metre-long, 60-seater electric vehicle
is to be operated by Grupo Avanza
who say it will use ordinary roads
alongside other traffic. It is reported
to be Spain’s first autonomous local
bus service.