Antigua’s new waste collection service to start on 1 December, mayor says

Antigua’s new street cleaning and waste collection service is due to begin on 1 December, Mayor Juan Cabrera has announced. He also says the municipality’s waste charge will not rise above €30, despite the cost of renewing the service.

The mayor expects the workforce to increase from around 15 to approximately 35 operatives. The plans also include new vehicles and 100 containers above the number required by the contract specifications. In Caleta de Fuste, collections are to be expanded to cover both mornings and evenings.

The four-year contract is worth €9,442,519.95 and was approved unanimously by the municipal council on 24 September. It has been awarded to a temporary consortium of FCC Equal CEE Canarias, FCC Medio Ambiente and Capross 2004.

Cabrera said the contractor had been given two months to begin work, but that council efforts had brought the start date forward. He expects improvements to become visible during December and to take hold in the first few months of operation.

Waste charge and complaints

Cabrera said Antigua would not increase its waste charge and that nobody in the municipality would pay more than €30 for waste collection. His announcement comes amid controversy over substantial increases in other Fuerteventura municipalities, including La Oliva and Puerto del Rosario.

The mayor acknowledged that cleaning standards had deteriorated and that complaints from residents and businesses had increased. He attributed part of the problem to the outgoing contractor’s exclusion from the new contract, saying that, in his view, the company was avoiding further investment in an ageing vehicle fleet.

The council has spoken to the outgoing company about improving the service until the changeover, Cabrera said. Although he recognised some progress, he said it remained insufficient.

A separate €2.09 million contract for cleaning municipal buildings was approved unanimously by the council on 5 November.