A total of 18 municipalities in the county already meet the Catalan objective for 2020 to selectively collect more than 50% of their municipal waste

In 2019, the county of the Maresme improved its results for selective collection with respect to the previous year. Specifically, there was an increase of 4.18%, meaning a total of 114,791.78 tonnes, according to the figures that the Catalan Waste Agency has just published. In total, the percentage of selectively collected waste in the Maresme rose to 47.14% of the total waste generated, more than 2 percentage points above the Catalan average (44.77%). The figures show that the average selective collection in our county is 265.84 kg per inhabitant per year, while residual waste (everything that ends up in the grey container) is 298.16 kg per inhabitant per year. The results for total waste generation are relatively satisfactory, with an increase in the Maresme with respect to 2018 of only 0.15%, compared to a 1.55% global increase for the whole of Catalonia.

By fraction, the selective collection with the largest increase compared to the previous year in the Maresme was paper/cardboard with a spectacular growth of 23.83%, in line with the global increase in Catalonia. Next with an increase of 7.26% was packaging, and then glass which increased by 2.16%. However, selective collection for organic material suffered a reduction of -1.30%. The huge increase in the collection of paper/cardboard can be explained by the drastic fall in its price as a secondary raw material, and the practical disappearance of robberies from these bins.

By municipality, nine towns in the Maresme recycle over 60% of their waste. These are, in order: Argentona, Canet de Mar, Teià, Arenys de Munt, Llavaneres, Dosrius, Sant Pol de Mar, Sant Cebrià de Vallalta and Sant Vicenç de Montalt. A further nine municipalities meet the 2020 objective of 50% selective collection, in order: Cabrils, Cabrera de Mar, Vilassar de Dalt, Alella, Arenys de Mar, Palafolls, Premià de Dalt, Vilassar de Mar and Òrrius.
Once again we have to highlight the figures of the leading town in the county, Argentona, with a selective collection of 86.94% (the 16th best result for a municipality in Catalonia).

These county selective collection figures, from which the non-recyclable part needs to be removed, but the recuperation of the residual fraction has to be incorporated, allow us to report results which are close to meeting the European objective of 50% recycling for 2020.
The increase in selective collection in the Maresme reflects a general improvement in the whole of Catalonia, which last year selectively collected 44.7% of its municipal waste, or 1.8 million tonnes, figures which represent an increase of 8.94% on the previous year.

The implementation of collection systems which are ever more efficient and able to collect quality materials, PAYT (pay-as-you-throw) systems, awareness campaigns, the rising tax for municipal waste and other economic incentives, allow us to advance towards better results for selective collection and meeting the Catalan and European objectives. For this reason, since 2012 the Consortium has applied a variable cost for the treated residual fraction to the municipalities, providing incentives to improve collection, as they don’t have to deal with fixed costs when reducing residual waste.
Full statistics at http://estadistiques.arc.cat/ARC/