Vigo City Council has once again awarded the contract for waste collection, street cleansing, beach cleaning and household waste recycling centre (HWRC) management to FCC Medio Ambiente, which has been present in the city uninterruptedly since 1989. The order book value exceeds €366 million for the next 9 years and 6 months.

Sustainability is one of the fundamental pillars of this renewal, which is why a Zero Emission Zone has been established for the waste collection and street cleansing services, mainly in the Old Towns, not only in Bouzas but also in other Historic Centres, which are particularly sensitive areas due to their importance both for tourism and for the citizenship of Vigo. The implementation of the service will involve the renewal of a large proportion of the current fleet, with more than 50% of the units being electric or ECO environmental-labelled vehicles, which highlights the City Council's commitment to the fight against climate change and care for the environment. 

The waste collection service, which caters to around 300,000 inhabitants and collects 118,703 tonnes per year, will boast a workforce of 160 people and 58 vehicles, and will undertake the progressive implementation of the organic fraction selective collection. Regarding the container fleet, the number of units will be increased for the collection of the organic fraction. For selective collection, the current areas will be expanded, introducing rear-loading and left side-loading containers. Specific door-to-door collection will be implemented for large producers and mini-bins for composting will be distributed in rural areas, where selective collection will also be promoted, for which filling sensors will be installed. Finally, a system of daily put-on / put-off containers will be introduced in the Old Town.

The street cleansing service covers 2,303 kilometres of street, of which 1,634 are located in rural areas, and will have around 360 people and 90 vehicles. Measures to reduce the consumption of drinking water in the services, saving systems in equipment and water meters, and environmentally friendly biodegradable cleaning products will be adopted. Specific measures have also been established to reduce noise pollution, improve road safety and reduce odour nuisance. The frequency of the service will be increased on Sundays and public holidays.

The beach cleaning service, which comprises 7.2 kilometres of coastline, has 27 workers and 19 vehicles. A mechanical sifting machine on a mini-tractor will be incorporated, as well as an ambitious proposal for the placement of containers and bins for selective use according to fractions, with the aim of easing their subsequent recycling. Four waste deposit points will be set up, consisting of side-loading containers for exclusive use for each of the fractions.

Finally, different types of Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) will be implemented: permanent, mobile and of proximity, all with the aim of facilitating the correct separation and collection for the citizen. This new service has a Deposit and Reward System (SDR in Spanish) for refuse which will be installed in civic centres. The mobile HWRC will be installed in 12 strategic locations in the city and there will be a clean “bookcentre” service to give a second life to books, records...

In terms of technological innovation, the comprehensive management of services will be carried out through the VISION digital platform, developed exclusively by FCC Medio Ambiente, which allows the control, monitoring and optimisation of the works and makes it possible to interact in real-time with residents' requests. It can be fully integrated with other software platforms that the Vigo City Council has or may contract in the future, bearing in mind the continuous innovation of the Council and, consequently, of the service.

With this renewal, annual and occasional communication and awareness-raising action plans will be implemented, while specific direct campaigns will be created for different actions such as the collection of household goods and bulky items, the new organic fraction collection service, or the selective collection of paper/cardboard and packaging, among others.

The workforce of the services is well above the legal minimum established in terms of workers with disabilities and therefore various agreements with local entities such as the Down Vigo Foundation, Cruz Vermella, Erguete Foundation or the Galician Federation of Deaf People have been signed, all with the aim of easing the access to the labour market of different groups in vulnerable situations.

FCC Medio Ambiente is the FCC Group company that, for more than 110 years, has been providing municipal services and comprehensive waste management, serving more than 60 million people in nearly 5,000 municipalities. It carries out a wide variety of activities for citizens, such as waste management, street cleansing, ground and parks maintenance and energy efficiency services, among others.