The BOP publishes the full text of the new municipal regulation of Cleaning and Waste of the capital, which will be mandatory from January 17, and which also fines for throwing any type of chewable article and its packaging, specifically chewing gum, on the ground , candies, pipes and the like
The new Waste and Cleaning Ordinance of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which includes new prohibitions, such as smoking on the beaches or spitting in the street, and that increases all the amounts of the fines, will begin to apply from January 17. The Official Gazette of the Province (BOP) of Santa Cruz de Tenerife published this Monday, December 26, the full text of the regulation that replaces the one approved in 2001, announcing its entry into force “15 business days after its publication “.
With the so-called Municipal Ordinance for Waste Management and Cleaning of Public Spaces for a Circular Economy, the City Council of the capital of Tenerife regulates the garbage collection service in the municipality in accordance with current legislation; establishes “clear rules that contribute to the achievement of healthy, pleasant and attractive public spaces”; and implements a sanctioning regime aimed at “to eradicate behaviors that are completely incompatible with citizen coexistence and the sustainability of the urban and natural environment”, raising the sanctions “up to the legal maximum allowed”.
In this sense, the amounts of fines can reach up to 3.5 million euros, in the case of very serious breaches related to waste management, multiplying by 60 the maximum amount included in the previous ordinance, which stands at 60,000 euros. As for the minor infractions that already existed in terms of cleanliness, such as urinating in the streets of Santa Cruz, the fines go from 90 to 750 euros. With respect to the serious ones, such as depositing the garbage outside the containers, it goes from 150 to a minimum of 2,001 euros, since these can reach up to 100,000 euros.
Likewise, this municipal ordinance introduces new infractions or prohibitions, among which are spitting in the street, throwing pipes and chewing gum on the ground, placing advertising on cars, shaking clothes or the like from windows, and smoking on the municipal beaches. In all these cases, the amount of the sanctions amounts to 750 euros.
To monitor compliance with the ordinance, and as reported by the Councilor for Public Services, Carlos Tarife, of the PP, there will be a team made up of five inspectors, in addition to the collaboration of agents of the Local police.
The regulation also introduces other innovations such as the creation of a fee to penalize those who pollute the most, so that it “includes the cost of the service and is more personalized”; the obligation to separate waste; the possibility of having containers for exclusive use; or the obligation, for large waste generators, to manage it “by themselves and outside the municipal collection system”, delivering it to an authorized management entity.
prohibitions
Among the numerous prohibitions included in this new municipal ordinance are throwing or depositing any type of waste in public or solar spaces, even if they are private; throw any type of chewable item and its wrappers on the floor, specifically chewing gum, candies, pipes and the like; defecate, urinate or spit in the street; shake carpets, clothes or the like from windows, balconies or terraces; feeding non-domestic animals, such as pigeons, rats and stray cats; deposit the bags or other waste outside the containers; place leaflets and the like in vehicles; dirtying the public road with waste from the works; the extraction or search of waste in containers or bins; make graffiti on any element of the public space; and smoking on the beaches and bathing areas of the municipality, “except in the areas specially authorized by the City Council”.
Obligations
Among the obligations of citizens and companies are the “correct” separation of waste at source (home, business or industry); the cleaning, by those responsible, of the garbage generated by kiosks, street stalls, lotteries, terraces, bars and restaurants; the cleaning of the garbage generated by the celebration of events in public spaces, by the promoters of the same; and the cleaning, by their owners, of private passages, interior patios, lots, community parking lots, commercial galleries and, in general, all those common areas. The City Council may oblige waste producers to purchase their own containers for exclusive use, when by municipal decision and following criteria of efficiency and effectiveness of the service, containers for collective use are not installed.
self management
In the case of hazardous household waste or waste whose special characteristics make it difficult to manage or may cause disruptions in transport, collection, recovery or disposal, the City Council may oblige the people who produce such waste to manage it “necessarily by themselves”. and outside the municipal collection system, by delivery to an authorized management entity. In this case, the Consistory may impose the self-management of waste under the conditions to be determined.
Rate
The Santa Cruz City Council will impose a tax or, where appropriate, “a public, non-tax, specific, differentiated and non-deficit patrimonial benefit, which allows the implementation of payment-for-generation systems and which reflects the real, direct or indirect cost, of waste collection, transport and treatment operations”.
Prevention plan
Within a period of six months, from the entry into force of the ordinance, accommodation establishments and commercial establishments of a collective nature must present to the Consistory a Waste prevention and management planwhich will include the proper management of the waste generated.
Information
The ordinance incorporates, “for information and for the general knowledge of the public”, the list of waste to be deposited in each containerthe waste admitted in collection points, and a list with the specially protected areas and spaces.
infractions
Regarding waste management, for the very serious breaches, the sanctions range between 100,000 and 3.5 million euros; for serious ones, between 2001 and 600,000 euros, and in the case of minor infractions, the fines can reach up to 20,000 euros. In terms of cleaning, for very serious breaches, the sanctions can reach up to 3,000 euros; for serious ones, up to 1,500 euros, and for minor offences, such as smoking on the beaches, throwing chewing gum on the ground or spitting on the street, up to 750 euros. The ordinance includes the possibility of substituting financial fines for work for the benefit of the community (cleaning public roads) and for compulsory attendance at training courses.