The City Council receives 28,000 complaints in six months regarding cleaning in Alicante

The City Council has yet to fully address the issue of cleaning in Alicante. Evidence of this is the 28,000 complaints received by the department concerning the state of streets, green areas, and public spaces in the city, according to data shared by the new head of the area, Francisco Alemany, with other Corporation members during the last plenary session held at the Alicante Town Hall.

The representative of the Personnel Board of Netial, the new cleaning contractor, has stated that 180 street sweepers are missing in Alicante for optimal service. For Hogueras, the Alicante City Council hired a hundred workers to reinforce cleaning during the official festivities when the city welcomed two million visitors.

A cleaning operation that, apparently, cannot be repeated, as there is "no budget" for a city-wide emergency plan, as requested by Compromís. For now, the Alicante City Council has launched the temporary employment pool for Cleaning Inspectors, aimed at filling five vacant positions in the municipal staff.

Once filled, Alicante will have 11 technicians to oversee the service, one for each district into which the city is divided. Additionally, this call will create a work pool to cover necessary replacements.

The new Cleaning Councillor, Francisco Alemany, also assures that the City Council will act "with determination" to ensure compliance by the concessionaire. He warns that "necessary sanctions" will be imposed if irregularities in the service are detected.

Added to this is the issuance of new cleaning bills, which have increased up to fourfold in some cases. The Alicante City Council assures that the increase is in compliance with the European directive that requires matching income to the cost of waste treatment. Deputy Mayor Manuel Villar explains that the rise is due to "treatment, not cleaning".

In this context, the September plenary session approved the call for the non-permanent commission to monitor the cleaning contract. A proposal by Compromís, also supported by PSPV, EU-Podem, and Vox. The Popular Party did not vote in favour as it included "reviewing the fiscal ordinance regulating the fee for the collection, transport, and treatment of urban solid waste".

The Alicante Clean Coordinator (CAL) expressed their "discontent" with the new waste fee and its effects on the citizens.