Anger is boiling over on the coast after residents of Orihuela Costa sounded the alarm over rubbish containers that could topple onto the AP-7 motorway, risking a serious traffic accident.
The warning comes from neighbourhood group Unidos por la Costa, which has issued a hard-hitting press release demanding urgent action from the Ayuntamiento de Orihuela to clear what they describe as an out-of-control municipal dumping site.
The site, a council-owned plot on Cabo Touriñán Street in Lomas de Cabo Roig, has been used for years as a storage area for waste containers. According to residents, it has now descended into a full-blown eyesore — and a danger — surrounded by housing developments.
“The situation is alarming and poses a real threat to road safety and public health,” residents warn, backing their claims with photographs they describe bluntly as “a disgrace”. They say several large containers are perched close to the motorway, with broken safety fencing along the AP-7 and recent strong winds pushing some units dangerously near the edge.
“If one of these containers falls, it could cause a serious accident,” the group cautions, adding that the council could face administrative, civil and even criminal liability for failing to act despite being fully aware of the risk.
The concerns don’t stop at traffic safety. Residents also report piles of rubbish close to homes, accompanied by a surge in flies and mosquitoes, raising fears over hygiene and public health.
Unidos por la Costa is calling for immediate intervention from the council departments responsible for Health, the Environment and Urban Waste, reminding officials that maintaining public spaces, managing waste properly and preventing risks are legal obligations, not optional extras.
They also criticise what they describe as a pattern of neglect on the coast, saying residents are forced to repeatedly report problems that “should already be part of the council’s routine responsibilities”.
The group points out that the issue is nothing new. As far back as early 2023, they warned that the removal of perimeter fencing had left the plot exposed, allowing uncontrolled dumping by private individuals. Since then, they say, rubbish has piled up for weeks at a time, with reports of rats appearing nearby.
“What should be a green recreational area has become an illegal dump,” the group says — “an attack on public hygiene, an embarrassment for nearby urbanisations, and now a clear danger to motorists on the AP-7.”
