The Parla City Council has decided to take serious action against those who continue to leave bags of trash outside the container or deposit waste where it does not belong. According to the Councilor for Street Cleaning and Garbage Collection, Gema Isabel, the new cleaning contract includes the installation of video surveillance cameras in the municipality’s so-called “black spots” for litter, with fines of up to €2,000 for the most serious offenses.
The aim, according to the Town Hall and the cleaning service, is not to “catch” residents, but to put an end to a problem that generates around 2,000 incidents a week in the form of bags thrown in the street, containers surrounded by waste, and degraded areas.
20 points under surveillance and fines of up to €2,000
The municipal plan will focus on 20 specific points throughout the city, identified as the areas where waste regulations are most frequently violated: residents leaving bags on the ground, mattresses or furniture abandoned next to containers, or debris in the middle of public roads. Cameras will be installed in these locations and will work in coordination with the local police to identify offenders and apply the penalties provided for in the regulations, which in the most serious cases can reach €2,000. The councilor emphasizes that the tougher penalties will be supported by information campaigns and the presence of the devices themselves, in the hope that the simple fact of knowing that there are cameras will reduce anti-social behavior.
Video surveillance is just one aspect of the new street cleaning and waste collection contract, which comes into force on February 1 and will remain in force for 11 years, with a total value of €207 million. The service will be provided by a joint venture formed by Urbaser and FCC and will involve an increase in staff from 250 to 280 workers, hired on social criteria, as well as the incorporation of new specific machinery: gum removal machines, scrubbers and sidewalk washers, pressure washers, steam sweepers, and more modern collection vehicles.
Recycling, notification app, and recycling centers
The City Council also highlights other new features associated with the contract, such as the launch of mobile vehicles where residents can recycle containers and receive discounts in exchange for shopping at local businesses. A mobile app will be introduced so that citizens can report cleaning incidents or request the collection of household items, as well as fill meters in trash cans to optimize routes and the daily work of operators. The recycling center service will combine fixed facilities with a mobile recycling center that will operate every day of the week, reinforcing the separate collection of special waste.
Both the government team and the technical managers repeat the same idea: the economic and resource effort is useless if it is not accompanied by a change in habits. For this reason, the Parla City Council is linking the deployment of cameras to a broader commitment to environmental education, awareness campaigns, and incentives for recycling, while making it clear that the ordinances will be strictly enforced. In the words of Councilor Gema Isabel, the challenge is to ensure that “the streets reflect the effort made in cleaning” and that those who comply do not pay the consequences of the behavior of a minority.