Some residents of Santa Oliva cross the town next night with their garbage bag, reports 3cat, Catalan Public Radio. They are not visiting, they are going to throw it into the Albinyana containers so as not to have to separate their waste.
The panoramic. The Baix Penedès region has become the epicenter of a garbage war between municipalities. Each town has its own collection system:
- Traditional containers.
- Smart containers by card.
- Door -to -door collection.
The result is chaos where some neighbors practice what the authorities have baptized as “garbage tourism”: bring your waste to the people next to dodge the recycling standards of the strictest municipalities.
The situation has climbed to the Kafkian. In Cunit, The Local Police opens and inspects the bags deposited outside the container in search of receipts, letters or any document that delates to the offender. They have already put more than 200 fines that range between 300 and 3,000 euros.
Why is it important. This conflict perfectly reflects the gap between the technological and environmental ambitions of administrations … and citizen resistance to change.
- Smart containers that require card to open or door -to -door systems with strict schedules guarantee to increase recycling rates.
- But they also generate a visceral rejection in part of the population, which does not want or cannot have five different containers at home.
The result is a spiral of absurd behaviors:
- Neighbors who sabotage smart containers to leave them permanently open.
- Others that drive kilometers to throw garbage in the neighboring town.
- And police converted into waste detectives.
Yes, but. Legally, “garbage tourism” inhabits a gray area. Using the container of the neighboring town is not always illegal if its local standards are respected, although it is an abuse of the service that others pay with their taxes. The clearly illegal thing is to throw bags out of containers or do it inside whether there are municipal norms that prohibit use to non -residents.
The context. The problem is not exclusive to Baix Penedès. In Sanxenxo (Pontevedra)the cleaning company also analyzes abandoned bags seeking to identify offenders, with fines of up to 600 euros. In Villena (Alicante)the police have identified twelve people in seven months.
The municipalities defend that these systems reduce costs and improve recycling. But in Cunit there are neighbors who have not pick up the card for two years to open smart containers. The mayor speaks of “neglect.” The neighbors see it different.
Between the lines. Recycling digitalization is creating new marginalized: older who do not understand smart cards, neighbors without a car for the clean point, workers with time -to -door incompatible schedules.
“Garbage tourism” is only the symptom of the imposition of technological solutions without social consensus or alternatives for those who are out of the system.
In Xataka | The subsoil of historical cities hides a great garbage vacuum. The problem is that you have to punch
Outstanding image | Barcelona’s Decrease
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings