From David Beckham to Bing Crosby, from Ronaldo to Gonzalo Higuaín. La Moraleja has always been the district of the rich and jet-set, footballers and artists. When they lived on the Iberian Peninsula they were all there, in the enclave of the scroungers of Spain, in Alcobendas, in the northern Community of Madrid. The mansions here are impressive, set in the midst of luxurious golf courses, with real estate prices that go far beyond decency. The giants of the Spanish economy, the financial elite par excellence, have imposed the signs of unbridled luxury in these streets with the challenge of the most self-referential offices. In the Avenida de Europa, at number 18, in the sparkling La Moraleja district, the crystal palace (in the photo) has a name suspended in the Madrid sky: Acciona.

The Spanish climb

Not a colossus, more. It deals with everything from civil engineering to construction, from infrastructure to transport. It governs and operates Acciona Trasmediterranea, Spain's leading ferry company, with a fleet of 25 ships. It daily connects the Spanish coasts with the Balearic Islands, the Canaries, Ceuta and Melilla, as well as connections with Morocco, Algeria and France. In 2020, despite the pandemic, the turnover of the multinational reaches 6.472 billion euros.

The Sardinian landing

From the neighborhood of the rich in Madrid to Is Arenas, in the stretch of water of the Molentargius in Cagliari, the step is short. Here too, for some years now, a stone's throw from the de S'arruloni dewatering pump, Acciona has impressed its trademark without hesitation. A climb to the government of sewage that is unbelievable: first the management of the purification plant of the Sardinian capital and now the government with full hands of the vast majority of sewage wastewater on the island of Sardinia.

After 700 years

After seven hundred years from the Catalan-Spanish domination, the ancient land of the Nuraghi yields one of the most delicate sectors, that of water purification, to an entirely Iberian multinational. The contract is public, European, and with all the trappings of legality, until proven otherwise. Maybe difficult to conquer for Sardinian companies, given the requirements of the gigantic lots foreseen in the tender. And, in fact, the operation leaves no crumbs. Acciona, from Madrid, breaks through Sardinia. First on tiptoe and then with an offer that annihilates all competition. Beyond the Cagliari purifier, the Spaniards conquered the whole island, leaving out, perhaps out of modesty, only the microscopic basin of the Marmilla-Mandrolisai and that of Lanusei. For the rest, the keys to the purifiers, over 200, pass into Iberian hands. Last May the final award: the Spaniards win the most conspicuous contract in the history of water services in Sardinia.

Mountain of money

The figure is gigantic: 305 million euros. The open procedure is divided into five lots: three huge and two small. “Acciona Agua” doesn't waste time with the little ones and focuses on the three main ones: it wins lot 1 for 59.8 million, lot 3 for 69.4 million and lot 4 for 79.9 million euros. Lot 2, the Marmilla-Mandrolisai, goes to Idrotecnica di Roma for 35.9 million, while lot 5, the Ogliastra one, is won by Antonino Orrù di Jerzu, the only Sardinian, for 9.6 million euros. The contract is clear: «Service of operation and maintenance of urban waste water purification, sewerage and pre-treatment plants». The title does not explicitly mention it, but the most delicate chapter is contained in the purification of sewage wastewater, that of sludge disposal. In practice, the management of what remains of all the waste water of the island. A very delicate game, very often resulting in criminal law, given the many investigations that have triggered kidnappings at national level and beyond.

Awareness

Abbanoa and Acciona know this well. And, in fact, they want nothing to do with that sewer waste. In fact, in the vaults of the Madrid palace, they jealously guard the subcontracting contract n.966-2021. The document, (in the photo) complete with signatures at the bottom, is the one signed on March 31, 2021 between the Spanish giant and a company from Sanluri, Shift, an absolute monopolist in Sardinia for the management of this sludge. In reality, however, the subcontracting agreement we are in possession of is as sincere as ever. Letter C of the premise reads: "The aforementioned tender contract provides for the execution, as far as is concerned here, of the 100% separable-subcontracting service having as its object the process waste disposal service". Yes, it really says "process waste disposal".

Disposal of waste

They do not use pompous terms such as recovery or reuse, but speak, without subterfuge, of disposal and waste. Subcontracting is as clear as ever and can be seen from the constant references, see point 3.7, in which the contractor, Acciona, requires the subcontractor, Shift, to provide the documents relating "to the regular waste disposal". More waste, more disposal. After all, Abbanoa takes it for granted: «the service is 100% separable-subcontractable». The concept is simple: even Acciona can completely free itself from this task which, in reality, is the most delicate of the production process of a purifier. And the Spaniards don't think twice about washing their hands.

Criminal liability

In the management chain, according to what they write in the subcontracting contract, a person is needed who, in the end, assumes all responsibility for what happens to that sludge. The reference to legal, civil and criminal responsibilities is a continuous mantra, with an obsessive legal craving: "the subcontractor undertakes as of now to indemnify and keep the contractor" harmless "from any damage, expense, burden, cost, sanction and prejudicial consequences ". A not disinterested concern given what happens, more and more often, in the management of sewage sludge, from north to south Italy. In the document kept in the crystal office in Madrid, however, there is a non-secondary point in the whole management of these sewage sludge: in fact, point three sets out the obligations of the subcontractor.

Nobody weighs

It is chapter 3.10 that opens a significant gap in the entire management of this “waste”. It says: «The subcontractor also undertakes to install demountable weighing systems with jacks on the vehicles of future acquisition. The on-board weighing system for roll-off set-ups involves the installation of four hydraulic pistons on which the load cells rest which, when raised, detect the certified weight of the material contained in the roll-off body ». Not a detail, on the contrary. According to the documents in our possession, the Sanluri company currently has a fleet of machines that does not report any trucks capable of certifying the weight of the sludge at the start. It is Shift, in fact, that collects the sewage sludge from the purifiers scattered all over Sardinia, without ever knowing the weight of the load.

Abbanoa without scales

In fact, in none of the Abbanoa purifiers is there a single “scale” capable of establishing the real weight of the material. A weighing of those sludge will only take place once you arrive in Sanluri where there should be a "weight" in the availability of the subcontractor company. Hence the request by Acciona to equip itself with trucks with autonomous weighing systems. The reality, however, is disarming: this "task" of the weight of the sludge is entrusted directly to the one who is paid according to the results of his balance. And the gain is not insignificant. The revenue chapter is high-sounding: each ton of sewage sludge will be paid by Acciona, and therefore by Abbanoa, a good 68.50 euros. To understand what figures we are talking about, just one data is enough: Shift, to dispose of that sludge, in the four-year period 2016-2020, collected a total of 23 million and 474 thousand euros.

do-it-yourself

Finally, as regards the "do it yourself", even the analyzes are all managed directly by the subcontractor who, through affiliated laboratories, monitors the mud samples. The public entity, the Arpas, would have carried out only some checks, but the results do not appear in any official document. Very often the public findings would be limited to acquiring only the private certifications, both those concerning the chemical-physical analyzes of the sludge and the characterizations of the soil. A little 'little given the business that revolves around these sewage sludge. A game that, to put it in the words of the Council of State, would deserve a supplement of preventive checks, rather than a “do it yourself” management.

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