The City Council Requests Public Cooperation for a Cleaner Alicante

With vibrant colours, appealing to the public, and highlighting improvements in the contract, the Alicante City Council seeks to enhance cleanliness in the city. The council unveiled its new campaign 'Let's Make Alicante Cleaner' on Thursday, urging citizens to engage in keeping the city clean. It criticises behaviours that annoy Alicante residents, such as littering cigarette butts, gum, or paper, failing to clean up after pets, or discarding waste outside of designated hours or without notifying the collection service—a free service available via WhatsApp.

Moreover, the campaign highlights the new resources available to the contract, such as new trucks and increased street cleaning. However, the main focus is on raising awareness, urging action with the question 'Shall we start today?'. This initiative aims to engage Alicante residents. "Without public cooperation, we can provide all the resources, but they won't be enough," stated the Cleaning Councillor, Manuel Villar.

The councillor stated that the council and the contractor are striving to improve resources with new equipment and increased staff. He also mentioned, "We have increased penalties by 80%. We are not only providing material solutions but also working to end uncivil behaviours."

According to the campaign manager, Lucía de la Vega, the design aims to inform the public about all the new resources available to the City Council and Netial. Therefore, new sweepers or workers—as they are in reality—can be seen against the backdrop of some of the city's most iconic monuments, such as Luceros, the Explanada, or the Santa Bárbara Castle. Additionally, the campaign seeks an engaging tone that encourages public action without being imperative.

From this Thursday until June, 'Let's Make Alicante Cleaner' will be visible in various city locations on billboards or posters, as well as through media outlets. Additionally, 12 of the contractor's vehicles will feature the four posters' designs. The campaign, designed by Rodrigo García Llorca, has a budget of 105,000 euros, making it the most expensive in the city's history.

This campaign is joined by other public awareness initiatives conducted by the cleaning department, such as activities in city schools involving 14,000 students annually and others like the implementation of the organic waste container.

The opposition has expressed dissatisfaction with the campaign. The Socialist Municipal Group, through Councillor Raúl Ruiz, has questioned the effectiveness of the municipal street cleaning service in Alicante and criticised the Barcala government for relying on an advertising campaign to improve the city's condition. The councillor highlighted the situation during the recent Christmas period, when it became evident that the cleaning balance, especially in the neighbourhoods, was disastrous. "Quadrupling the waste rate without noticing any difference is unacceptable. The neighbourhoods cannot be neglected to reinforce cleaning in the centre. The city cannot be cleaned solely with leaflets and billboards; workers are needed," emphasised the councillor.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Compromís, Rafa Mas, insisted that "they launch the largest and most expensive campaign in history to raise awareness, yet we still fail to inspect cleaning and waste collection contracts. They boast of doubling fines: two per day. We don't know how many fines have been issued to the contractor for failing to comply with certain contract terms. Good for the campaign, but we need environmental educators on the streets. The minimum required by the regional law and what the PIR - Comprehensive Waste Plan - demands. Moreover, a campaign that will not be constant, only until June, when in summer the city fills with tourists, the same tourists who do not contribute with the tourist tax to improve public services."