115 local authorities and three major producers receive grants to improve the selective collection of the organic fraction of municipal waste, the diagnosis of the collection status, the implementation of action plans, and the promotion of self-composting as a route of exclusive management.
The Catalan Waste Agency (ARC) has decided to grant €2,013,010 in grants to local entities and large producers for selective waste collection projects from the organic waste fraction from a circular economy perspective. In total, 115 local authorities and three major producers have been the recipients of the subsidies.
Regarding the local authorities, four belong to the Alt Pirineu and Aran, 27 to Barcelona, 11 to the camp of Tarragona, 44 to central Catalonia, 20 to Girona, seven to Lleida and two to the Terres de l’Ebre. The large producers that have received the help, after having requested it, have been the Espigoladors Association, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Vall d’Aran Hotel Regional Commerce Guild.
Most of the projects are aimed at improving the selective collection of the organic fraction of municipal waste, diagnosing the state of collection and carrying out action plans, and self-composting as an exclusive management route.
The return of fees
The budget of these grants comes mainly from the return of the royalties on the disposition of the waste of the municipal waste. That is, the tax that municipalities pay for the amount of a fraction that is subtracted, not separately, that they send to landfills or to incinerate. In 2017, the fee was 30 euros per tonne for controlled deposits and € 14.5 per tonne of waste destined for energy recovery.
Thanks to this ecological tax, a more environmentally friendly behavior is encouraged – the promotion of separation – and measures of minimization and material recovery of waste can be promoted. In this call, local entities that have set up actions to promote better treatment and collection of the organic fraction of municipal waste are rewarded.
The organic collection service is currently provided by 781 Catalan municipalities, 136 of which do so through the door-to-door system.
