Residents of Orihuela Costa have been outraged by the rise in the rubbish collection fee from 1st January by 340%, going from paying an average of 70 euros a year to 238.76 euros (in the outlying areas they will pay 175.63 euros and in the city 202.53).
This has left residents declaring “those who have the least service are those who pay the most” and the Cabo Roig and Lomas Residents’ Association is asking “how is it possible that having such a deplorable waste collection service the local government wants to increase it by 340%.”
The price increase is in response to a European law that requires town councils to charge the real amount of the service cost. In the case of the municipality of Orihuela, 6.5 million are collected and the expenditure is 15 million, and that is another point that is not understood, “how is it possible that the costs are 40% higher than the revenue?” asks the neighbourhood association. It is also keen to point out that there is another mandatory law, one brought in by the regional regime, which establishes that rubbish collection is the responsibility of the town councils, and “the town council in Orihuela has been neglecting its functions for many years.”
The association has repeatedly published and shared images of rubbish accumulating on the streets of the coast, with uncontrolled landfills and containers that cannot cope due to a lack of human and material resources, the result of an outdated service that was municipalised in 2012 and which operates with the legacy of the private contractor of that time.
In short, residents are fed up with decades of neglect in terms of services and infrastructure and now feel penalised by this increase which is completely unjustified.
The association has requested the figures on which the calculations have been made in order to establish the rate and population basis.
“How many users are there? How long throughout the year do they use these services? Do those who come for two months a year pay the same rate as those who reside all year round, something that happens in all residential tourist municipalities, but which should be proportional,” these are key questions.
José Aix, spokesman for Ciudadanos, describes the measure as “absolute barbarity”, especially coming from a government team, PP and Vox , who when they were in the electoral campaign said they were going to lower taxes. He also points out that in addition to the increase in garbage tax, there is the increase that the local government has made due to the occupation of public roads and the land registry, which they are preparing.