Motril City Council (Granada, Spain) has awarded FCC Medio Ambiente the new contract for waste collection, street and beach cleansing and management of the municipal household waste recycling centre for the next 12 years. The contract is worth €123 million, with an investment of €11 million and a workforce of 144 people.

One of the company's main objectives is to adapt services to the needs and demands of the city's nearly 60,000 inhabitants, gearing its work towards sustainability in its three main axess: environmental, economic and social. With 87 newly acquired vehicles and machines, a significant percentage of which are electric, the aim is to increase selective collection and the promotion of organic waste, improving the quality of the waste. In its facilities, priority will be given to the use of alternative and renewable energies with photovoltaic solar panels and LED lighting. Social sustainability is of particular importance, with 20% of the workforce already made up of women and the planned incorporation of workers with functional diversity.

Technological innovation is also a key pillar of the new contract with the centralisation of the complete management of services in the VISION digital platform, developed exclusively by FCC Medio Ambiente, which makes real-time interaction possible with incidents and requests from residents and the municipal team.

The waste collection service, which deals with over 24,000 tonnes annually, will fully renew and standardise the fleet of containers and will boast a new vehicle and machinery fleet including ten collection vehicles and a 100% electric solar-powered compactor. Organic waste collection will be implemented across the municipality, organised in container banks except in the historic centre where a pick-up and drop-off system will be used, improving accessibility and hygiene. The following will be collected: paper-cardboard and packaging from large generators; bulky waste, spills, plant and pruning waste; household textile waste and oil; as well as waste from municipal and street markets.

The street cleansing service covers 169 kilometres of streets and will have 46 newly acquired vehicles and machines, including six mechanical sweepers and 22 electrically-powered trolleys. The service will begin with two intensive plans for thorough cleaning and clearing of the roads with the aim of making the city look its best and keeping it that way throughout the contract. One hundred per cent of the bin stock will be renewed, increased and standardised.

As for beach cleaning, more than 360,000 and 60,000 square metres of dry and wet sand respectively, there will be 10 newly acquired units of equipment, including tractors, stone crushers, screeners, attachments and support vehicles. There will be a significant increase in the number of tasks during peak season, with services provided seven times a week in summer and five times a week the rest of the year. Preventive and corrective maintenance of beach furniture tasks will also be carried out.

The new management service for the municipal household waste recycling centre will extend opening hours to seven hours a day, including a new afternoon shift every day of the week and on public holidays, as well as a mobile recycling centre, all with the aim of making recycling more accessible to the public. Of particular note is the installation within the recycling centre of a space for the reconditioning of waste, promoting the circular economy.

In order to facilitate communication with the citizenship and to collect notifications of the collection of bulky waste, incidents and suggestions, a citizen service office has been set up, as well as a free telephone line on 900 102 717 and an email address atencion_usuario_motril@fccma.es.

In the main photo, Ms Luisa García Chamorro, Mayor of Motril, with Mr Oscar Acosta Acosta, director of the Andalusia I branch of FCC Medio Ambiente.

In the second photo, from left to right: Jose Pablo Perez Muñoz, production manager of the Andalusia I branch of FCC Medio Ambiente; Juan Fernando Hernandez Herrera, Councillor for Urban Quality of the Motril City Council; Ms Luisa García Chamorro, Mayor of Motril; Oscar Acosta Acosta, director of the Andalusia I branch of FCC Medio Ambiente; Jose Antonio Castilla Luna, contract manager; and Antonio José Escamez Rodriguez, Councillor for Environment of the Motril City Council.