For the first time, six municipalities in the county exceed 60% selective collection, which is the figure established by the Catalan government for 2020, and sixteen exceed 50%

In 2017 the county of the Maresme increased the amount of waste collected through selective collection by 6.57% with respect to 2016. This is the most significant figure on municipal waste at county level which the Catalan Waste Agency has published this summer as part of its annual report. The improvement in this percentage is largely a result of the increase in the selective collection of paper and cardboard, glass, and light packaging.
 
Another positive result is that, for the first time in history, the Maresme has six municipalities with figures above the objectives set by the General Programme of Prevention and Waste and Resource Management of Catalonia for 2020 (60% selective collection). Argentona leads the ranking in the Maresme with 86.54%. Cabrils is the second town in the Maresme with the best result in selective collection with 71.73%. Canet de Mar, Sant Vicenç de Montalt, Sant Pol de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres also exceed 60%, while Arenys de Munt, Teià, Sant Cebrià de Vallalta, Vilassar de Dalt, Calella and Caldes d’Estrac achieve more than 55%. Finally, Cabrera de Mar, Òrrius, Vilassar de Mar and Alella exceed 50%, meaning that there are a total of sixteen municipalities which now meet the symbolic target for selectively recycling more than half of their waste. The fractions which experienced the most significant improvement in 2017 in the Maresme were light packaging and paper/cardboard (an increase in both cases of almost 13% compared to 2016), and glass (almost 12%).
 
With regards to aspects which can be improved, waste production has increased by 3.76% compared to 2016, with a total 241,120 tonnes of municipal waste generated in the county, meaning 1.56 kg per person per day. This figure reflects the fact that when there is economic and consumer growth, there is still a parallel increase in waste production, a fact which highlights the margin for improvement in prevention policies. This global increase in waste production, which is also reflected in residual or non selectively collected waste (which has increased 1.63%), means that the percentage of selectively collected waste with respect to the total has risen a little more than 1% compared to the previous year with 44.28% (43.12% in 2016). It is also important to note that the collection of organic material has not improved significantly, only growing by 0.64%, in contrast to the other main fractions. 

In 2017 in Catalonia as a whole, selective collection registered the highest increase in the last five years, with more than 100,000 tonnes, or 7%. However, the increase in waste production (3.3%) means that selective collection as a percentage of the total goes up from 38.5% in 2016 to 39.9% in 2017. The generation of municipal waste in Catalonia is slightly above the European average, which is 482kg per person per year, and at similar levels to Finland, France or Holland. 

Press pack on selective collection in Catalonia 2017
 
Complete statistics on municipal waste