BILBAO TAKES A STEP FORWARD IN URBAN WASTE MANAGEMENT: NEW OBJECTIVES, ADAPTATION TO CURRENT REGULATIONS, AND SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS
- The City Council is committed to promoting actions aimed at raising awareness among citizens about environmental challenges, accompanied by necessary measures and changes in the service.
- This fall, an important information campaign will be launched to inform citizens about the most significant modifications that will affect, in a first stage, the collection of biowaste, i.e., organic matter deposited in the brown container.
The Bilbao City Council continues to work and progress in the adaptation of the waste management model with the aim of moving towards a more sustainable city aligned with current legal regulations, both European, state, or regional.
The waste collection service in Bilbao is currently provided throughout the municipality without limitations. Its mission is not only to collect and transport generated waste but also to reduce its volume, especially of those that will not be reused or recycled.
The current legal framework requires that waste collection services be oriented towards achieving a higher rate of selective collection. In addition, measures need to be taken to reduce municipal waste disposal as much as possible.
That is why the Bilbao City Council is committed to promoting actions aimed at raising awareness of environmental challenges and changing consumption patterns and lifestyles, accompanied by necessary measures and changes in the service. Ultimately, the goal is to achieve a more responsible, committed, and supportive attitude towards the urban ecosystem by the administration and the entire population, and to seek solutions for the efficient use of resources and reducing their impacts on the city.
WORK DONE
The City Council believes that Selective Collection is key to achieving objectives such as increasing recycling rates, improving material valorization, reducing lightweight packaging waste, and promoting reuse. Some of the steps taken in this direction are:
- Rationalization of containers, creating recycling islands and optimizing collection routes;
- Study of waste generation by large producers and organization of collections by sectors.
- Promotion of the use of containers with registration to improve management and efficiency, also monitoring citizen contributions.
- Implementation of the fifth container, a key issue to move towards sustainable management, comply with the law, and promote environmental protection and the circular economy.
- And more recently, within the framework of the new Fee Ordinance, the creation of the new Waste Fee, as a tool that reflects the real cost of the service and aims to move towards a «pay per generation» system. It is conceived as a useful tool that allows for fiscal measures and bonuses for those who participate in the system and make a minimum number of contributions to it.
NEWS AND INFORMATION CAMPAIGN
This fall, the Bilbao City Council will launch an important information campaign for citizens to be informed about the most relevant changes in the waste collection service, which will initially affect the collection of biowaste, i.e., organic matter deposited in the brown container.
Among the innovations proposed by the Public Works and Services Department are:
- The deployment of brown containers with opening through physical or digital card, which will collect the organic contributions of the residents.
- The creation of a new mobile application to track contributions from each user of the fifth container.
- The distribution of the necessary material for the correct deposit of biowaste in its corresponding container.
All this information will be provided promptly, as well as other equally important issues, such as:
- Actions to take to qualify for the discounted fee and register in the system.
>> Current users will only need to give their consent, either electronically or in person.
>> Those who are not yet users will need to register either through the application, the website, or in person at locations designated by the City Council. - Conditions to qualify for fee discounts, deadlines, and means to do so.
With these measures, Bilbao reaffirms its commitment to sustainable development, the circular economy, and the improvement of urban quality of life, promoting waste separation at the source and citizen co-responsibility as a key element in caring for the environment.
WASTE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
The starting point of the regulatory framework was Directive 2008/98/EC, which set ambitious objectives for the reduction, reuse, and recycling of municipal waste.
In national regulations, and to comply with community objectives, Law 7/2022 of April 8 on waste and contaminated soils for a circular economy was approved, which established the obligation for local entities to establish a fee for waste collection, transport, and treatment services.
In Bizkaia, on October 23, 2024, the Integral Plan for Prevention and Management of Local Competence Waste of Bizkaia 2030 was approved. This is the strategic instrument that defines the waste policy of the Historical Territory until 2030. Within this plan, ambitious objectives and lines of action are defined, with proposals mainly focused on reducing waste generation by increasing selective separation and recycling rates.
The basic objectives to be met are related to:
- Prevention:
>> Reduce municipal waste generation by 15% compared to current levels by 2030.
>> Reduce food waste generation. - Selective Collection:
>> Ensure full coverage in the collection of biowaste, domestic hazardous waste, textiles, used kitchen oils, bulky waste, and WEEE. - Increasing municipal valorization, with 79.83% of generated waste being valorized materially.
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