The Donostia/San Sebastián City Council has awarded the EASO GARBIA joint venture, led by FCC Medio Ambiente, the contract to provide the new street cleansing service in the city, where the company has been operating uninterruptedly since 1981. The contract represents an order book value of €149.1 million over the next 10 years. 

To provide services to the over 188,000 inhabitants and nearly 280 kilometres of streets, pavements, squares and roads in the municipality, the new service will employ 214 people and is built around four main axes: increasing the electrification of the vehicle fleet, improving cleaning levels, optimising work routes and modernising selective litter bins.

Based on these main pillars, the contract pays special attention to sustainability and introduces 157 newly acquired vehicles, 60% of which are electric, including dual sweeping and washing-down equipment, four 2m³ electric sweepers and four electric washing-down units. In addition, the electrification of six of the existing tankers' systems will be carried out, and 1,000 selective waste bins will be introduced to form recycling islands of four fractions. All of the above reinforces the commitment of the Donostia-San Sebastián City Council and FCC Medio Ambiente to sustainable urban development, the fight against climate change and the transition to the Circular Economy model.

Among the most noteworthy improvements of the new contract are the new routes optimised on the basis of isochrone studies, which eliminate unproductive times and optimise journeys, as well as the introduction of dynamic routes that combine manual and maintenance sweeping. The different types of electric ancillary vehicles are adapted to the specific area of work of each team and to the real needs of the different areas of the municipality. In addition, the frequency of mechanical sweeping is improved thanks to the overlapping of sectors in the areas that require it.

FCC Medio Ambiente is betting on a technological and innovative service, organised and monitored through VISION, a comprehensive digital management platform developed exclusively by the company, which enables real-time interaction with service incidents, residents' requests and the municipal team. There is also a complete programme of technological innovations and pilot projects based on artificial intelligence, including the integration of state-of-the-art cameras in an inspection vehicle for the automatic detection and cataloguing of incidents and an innovative programme to identify the authorship of graffitis thanks to repetition and comparison with graphology patterns.

The new image of the service is particularly focused on citizens and their role as active agents in urban cleanliness, with the slogan: Beti-Eder, Zaindu Dezagun (Always Beautiful, Let's Take Care of It). The aim is to foster a sense of belonging and identification with the city, emphasising the importance of citizens taking care of the public thoroughfare in the same way as they take care of their homes.