Oviedo scraps Sunday waste collection, saving just 2.85%
Oviedo, in Spain, is ending waste collection on Sundays and public holidays to save €151,718, just 2.85% of the cost. The service is cut by 17% but the savings are minimal.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Oviedo ends waste collection on Sundays and public holidays to save €151,718
Residents of Oviedo are bracing for a change to the waste collection service that has sparked controversy. From January, FCC trucks will stop running on Sundays and public holidays. The City Council justifies the move with an annual saving of €151,718, or 2.85% of the total service cost. The city, which prides itself on being one of the cleanest in Spain according to the Escobas de Platino ranking, is thus cutting its weekly collection days by 17%.
An equation that doesn't add up: fewer days, little savings
The figure that has drawn the most attention is the disproportion between the service cut and the savings achieved. Eliminating one collection day per week means removing 17% of the working days, yet the cost barely falls by 2.85%. Defenders of the measure argue that in cities like London or across much of the US, collection is less frequent and works fine. In Oviedo, the system of individual bins in apartment entrances prevents rubbish from piling up on the street, but in summer the smell could become a problem. Sceptics point out that the saving is minimal compared with the disruption, and that the waste tax will not be reduced.
Oviedo's system under scrutiny
Oviedo has gone years without public waste containers. Bins are collected door to door, which has made the city a benchmark for cleanliness – it shares the top spot in the Escobas de Platino ranking with San Sebastián. But that same system, which forces residents to put out their rubbish at fixed times, has its critics: at night the streets fill with bins and bags that don't all fit, and street cleaners endure precarious working conditions. Scrapping the Sunday service will only make these problems worse, some argue.
The baffling figure: for every euro saved, the city gives up almost six days of service a year. Meanwhile, the waste bill remains untouched.
Related discussions in the forum
Residents of Oviedo are bracing for a change to the waste collection service that has sparked controversy. From January, FCC trucks will stop running on Sundays and public holidays. The City Council justifies the move with an annual saving of €151,718, or 2.85% of the total service cost. The city, which prides itself on being one of the cleanest in Spain according to the Escobas de Platino ranking, is thus cutting its weekly collection days by 17%.
An equation that doesn't add up: fewer days, little savings
The figure that has drawn the most attention is the disproportion between the service cut and the savings achieved. Eliminating one collection day per week means removing 17% of the working days, yet the cost barely falls by 2.85%. Defenders of the measure argue that in cities like London or across much of the US, collection is less frequent and works fine. In Oviedo, the system of individual bins in apartment entrances prevents rubbish from piling up on the street, but in summer the smell could become a problem. Sceptics point out that the saving is minimal compared with the disruption, and that the waste tax will not be reduced.
Oviedo's system under scrutiny
Oviedo has gone years without public waste containers. Bins are collected door to door, which has made the city a benchmark for cleanliness – it shares the top spot in the Escobas de Platino ranking with San Sebastián. But that same system, which forces residents to put out their rubbish at fixed times, has its critics: at night the streets fill with bins and bags that don't all fit, and street cleaners endure precarious working conditions. Scrapping the Sunday service will only make these problems worse, some argue.
The baffling figure: for every euro saved, the city gives up almost six days of service a year. Meanwhile, the waste bill remains untouched.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (17 replies).
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