A total of 17 municipalities in the county already meet the European objective for 2020 to selectively collect more than 50% of waste

In 2018, the county of the Maresme improved its results for selective collection with respect to the previous year. Specifically, there was an increase of 5.97%, meaning a total of 110,172.32 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 45.3%, almost 4 percentage points above the Catalan average (41.76%). The figures show that the average selective collection in our county is 257.84 kg per inhabitant per year, while  residual waste (everything that ends up in the grey container) is 311.31 kg per inhabitant per year.

Five municipalities in the Maresme now recycle over 60% of their waste, which is the European objective for 2030. These are: Argentona, Cabrils, Canet de Mar, Llavaneres and Sant Cebrià. Eleven more municipalities meet the 2020 objective of 50% selective collection: Alella, Arenys de Mar, Arenys de Munt, Cabrera, Dosrius, Òrrius, Sant Pol de Mar, Sant Vicenç de Montalt, Teià, Vilassar de Dalt and Vilassar de Mar.

The increase in selective collection in the Maresme reflects a general improvement in the whole of Catalonia, which last year selectively collected 41.8%, or 1.66 million tonnes of waste, a figure which represents an increase of 8.4% on the previous year. The implementation of collection systems which are ever more efficient, the rising tax on municipal waste, the increase in aid to local entities to promote municipal waste separation, and the results of citizen awareness campaigns are the main motives for these improved figures. For this reason, during 2018, the Maresme Consortium for Municipal Solid Waste Treatment ran the “Recycle and win” campaign, aimed at increasing the results of selective collection by emphasising the economic value of waste.

The increase in taxes on the elimination of waste is happening progressively and will continue until 2020 –reaching almost 50€ per tonne if the waste goes to landfill, and 25€ per tonne if it is incinerated- to raise the cost of the waste management options which are least environmentally friendly, and to promote waste prevention, selective collection and recycling.

Full statistics at: http://estadistiques.arc.cat