On Wednesday 28th, Mijas Town Hall gave final approval to its new cleanliness and waste collection by-law, which toughens penalties for anti-social behaviour and updates the obligations of residents, businesses and commercial premises. The regulations bring together all municipal provisions on cleanliness and waste management into a single text, with the aim of improving streets, squares and public spaces.

Key measures include tougher penalties for illegal dumping, abandoning furniture and household items, incorrect rubbish disposal, and other behaviour that compromises the cleanliness of the municipality. Fines start at 400 euros for minor offences and can reach 3,000 euros in very serious cases, without prejudice to higher amounts provided for under national legislation. Furthermore, failing to pick up dog fouling is considered a serious offence, with fines starting at 750 euros, which can rise to 1,500 euros in particularly sensitive areas such as children’s playgrounds.

The councillor for Cleanliness, Eloy Belmonte (Vox), emphasised that “we do not want to issue more fines or collect more money, but rather to ensure that Mijas is cleaner. It is not fair that those who follow the rules should have to bear the consequences of those who litter our streets. That is why we have increased the penalties for anti-social behaviour. Our aim is for residents to notice a real improvement and for it to become less and less necessary to impose fines”.

 

Shops and establishments

The by-law also sets out obligations for shops and hospitality establishments, which must sort their waste correctly and keep the areas they occupy clean, as well as for event organisers and construction companies. Furthermore, it regulates times for putting out rubbish, the collection of furniture and household items, and the use of recycling centres. The regulations, which do not alter the waste collection charge, will come into force once legal formalities are complete and the full text has been published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Málaga (BOPMA).

Opposition

The item was passed with votes in favour from the government team. PSOE rejected the motion because, as councillor Belén Roca explained, all the improvements proposed by her party, nearly thirty of them, had been rejected. These included requests for a maximum timeframe to collect furniture and household items from private individuals, increased street cleaning in residential areas, and adjusting waste disposal times in bins depending on the time of year. On this last point, Roca noted that “now, with the clocks changing, it is pitch dark by 20:00, and we have a significantly older population in some neighbourhoods who no longer go out at that hour”. In response, the councillor for Cleanliness stated that “we cannot set a fixed timetable in the by-law because circumstances change, but  we have the option to issue a public notice, which can be adjusted in summer or whenever necessary”. 

For his part, the spokesperson for Ciudadanos, José Carlos Martín, also expressed dissatisfaction with the section of the by-law that toughens penalties for failing to place rubbish in the correct bin: “in other words, we have moved from environmental awareness to a mandatory obligation to recycle, and it seems that taxpayers are bearing the entire burden”. On this point, Belmonte emphasised that “we all pay taxes, you and I included, but that does not give us the right to litter or get things wrong when it comes to recycling. This regulation simply aims to ensure we all do things properly”, concluded the councillor for Street Cleaning.

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