Residents in Girona hand over 6,800 signatures urging improvement in waste collection

Around 150 residents of the northern city of Girona have handed in over 6,848 signatures to the city council urging them to improve the waste collection system. They say they are "outraged" with the "terrible" condition the city is in.

"Any resident you run into is angry with the system," Jordi Tomàs, one of the promoters of the signature initiative, said. The cost of the cleaning service is €170 million between 2022 and 2030, and residents are "very angry" with the waste collection management.

Meanwhile, the city council acknowledges some issues in the service but says that they are doing "all that is in their hands" to modify a binding contract that is "very limited." 

"There are people who live in very small apartments and have to keep baby diapers and organic garbage at home until they are picked up," Tomàs said before adding that it is "outrageous."

However, the council warns that open waste containers are "gone forever" and that the new system in place, door-to-door waste sorting and emergency waste sorting points, will be the future.

Sergi Cot, Girona's councilor for climate action, said that the conditions seen in the city at the time are "not optimal" and that they need to "continue working." He said that there have been some changes, such as increasing waste collection hours for the 'general garbage' and the 'organic' fractions.

The city will also recover green containers for glass recycling, allowing for an extra day of 'general garbage' collection. This effect will take place from July 14.

Officials have already implemented over a dozen 'emergency' waste sorting areas across the city that are open to all residents. Locals will need a contactless card linked to their profile to access the containers, with a limit of 52 times per year.

These sites allow residents to leave waste on days that it is not scheduled to be collected using the door-to-door system. The scheme gives small containers to residents, and waste has to be sorted every day according to a pre-fixed schedule.

Aside from the emergency collection points, the council is also installing large containers for communities to replace the door-to-door small bins for neighbors who reside in apartment buildings and do not have space to leave the bins. Residents will now have a card to access these large containers near their homes.

€258,000 fine

The city council will sanction the cleaning company with €258,000 for breach of contract.

According to local authorities, the fine will be imposed after a delay in implementing the contract and for "severe or very severe" faults from the company when implementing the services.

Authorities also cite that some collection trucks had not been deployed, despite being scheduled to collect waste, and that the phone app does not work correctly.