On Tuesday 23rd, the Plenary Session gave initial approval to the Ordinance on Separate Household Waste  Collection and Street Cleaning for the municipality of Mijas, with the government team voting in favour and the opposition abstaining. This new regulation combines the former ordinances on public safety and civic behaviour and on public roads, dating from 2013 and 2012 respectively, as explained by the councillor for Street Cleaning, Eloy Belmonte (Vox), who defended the text during the plenary session. “This ordinance provides us with a more modern, clear and up-to-date set of regulations, adapted to the current reality of Mijas, incorporating tools that facilitate waste management and help to keep our public spaces in the best possible condition”, said the councillor.

In addition to consolidating certain articles that were already included in both texts, new provisions will be incorporated in line with current legislation, namely the new Law 7/22, the councillor added. “This new ordinance also regulates certain new aspects, such as the suspension of collection services in emergencies or cases of force majeure; it regulates events held on public roads [setting out obligations for organisers regarding cleaning and waste management]; it also addresses the issue of waste in industrial estates and commercial waste; and it will regulate the door-to-door collection system, as we have paved the way for the introduction of a commercial door-to-door collection scheme designed primarily for the town”, said Belmonte. The text also sets out the rules for using municipal recycling centres and introduces new obligations for building sites, developers  and companies “with the aim of protecting street cleanliness and the urban environment”, municipal sources explained.

 

Recycling

The  new ordinance also pays particular attention to separate collection and recycling, promoting the correct sorting of waste and more efficient waste management. Belmonte pointed out that “keeping a municipality clean is a shared responsibility  involving local authorities, businesses, event organisers and the public. “This ordinance aims to define each party’s responsibilities more clearly so that we can all continue to improve together”. 

The councillor also wished to thank “the daily cooperation of thousands of residents who, through their responsible behaviour, help to keep our municipality clean. Their involvement is essential for continuing to make progress and improving the image and quality of life in Mijas every day”.

 

Reactions  

The opposition highlighted several aspects of this ordinance. For example, the PSOE criticised the fact that use of the recycling centre is restricted to registered residents, when there are many citizens who have a second home in Mijas,  an issue which Belmonte clarified could be resolved by providing a property tax (IBI) receipt. However, the PSOE particularly criticised the fact that the waste collection and street cleaning contract is not being fulfilled, a point also raised by Cs. “You came here to ensure the waste contract was fully under control, down to the last detail. Mr Belmonte, it’s getting completely out of hand; Mijas is dirtier than ever under your watch. There isn’t a single resident who doesn’t stop us in the street to say, ‘What’s going on? They’re not cleaning my street, they’re not hosing it down”. We’ll leave the workers’ situation for another day because they are way past being on edge, they are on the absolute brink of a strike”, said the PSOE councillor Belén Roca. “All these breaches are detected, penalised and reported to the company. I’m surprised you’re concerned about these breaches because when you were in power there were even more; on average, between 15 and 17 staff members were absent every day”, Belmonte explained to both Roca and the Cs spokesperson, José Carlos Martín, regarding the current cleaning contract.

 

For their part, Cs emphasised that failure to sort waste at source would result in fines: “The issue under discussion here is that, following the approval of this ordinance, the residents of Mijas have more obligations than they did before, and if they do not comply, what will happen? Fines. You cannot fix cleaning services, rubbish collection, and the proper oversight of the contract by simply imposing fines; if you go down that path, I believe you are on the wrong track”, said Martín. The councillor for Cleaning explained that the fines are stipulated in Law 7/2022 and are therefore imposed by the national government. Cs, which said it would submit formal objections, also claimed that “they are not complying with Article 11.3 because the cost of the service should be passed on to the public”, but “they are not keen on telling the public that they have to pay more”. On this point, Belmonte assured that “we are not going to increase residents’ rubbish collection charges”.

 

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