Alcoy City Council and FCC Medio Ambiente (the Spanish brand for FCC Environment)  have signed the new solid urban waste collection and street cleansing contract for a period of four years, with a portfolio of €15.5 million with a possible extension of two years. With this decision FCC will continue providing services in Alcoy just as it has done since 1979.

Seven offers were submitted to tender, and FCC’s was the most highly rated by the city technicians.

To serve over 61,100 inhabitants in Alcoy and collect about 23,796 tons per year of various fractions of waste, FCC Medio Ambiente will have a workforce of 81 people and various innovative material resources adapted to the specific needs of the city.

The implementation of electric mobility is one of this contract’s major milestones. All vehicles and machines providing street cleansing services will therefore be powered 100% by electricity: three inspection vehicles, seven vehicles for motorized brush-up cleaning and auxiliary cleaning, as well as a sweeper, scrubber and jet-pressure cleaner vehicle.

Regarding the waste collection service, all lorries and large-tonnage vehicles will comply with the restrictive Euro 6 standard for pollutant gas emissions and environmental protection. Larger capacity, four-axle vehicles will be implemented for collection in various areas of the city, in order to optimize route efficiency. In addition, a 7.5 m3 electric waste collection vehicle will be available for reviewing locations.

A new development in the service worth highlighting is the introduction of more accessible refuse containers. The new refuse containers for the rejection fraction will have a pedal and crank specially adapted for people with disabilities, while those for glass, packaging and paper will have a blocked lid and smaller mouth.

For the first time, a selective collection model will be implemented for the Alcoy downtown area through nine "emerging areas", based on the temporary placement (20:00 to 22:00) of 360-litre containers to receive all waste fractions or recyclable material. This ensures that the public road is clear of containers for the rest of the day. The selective door-to-door collection service for recyclable materials is being provided at industrial estates with 240 to 1,100 litre refuse containers.

The service will be monitored through the VISION digital integrated services management platform  developed exclusively by FCC Medio Ambiente, whose main objective is to generate useful information in a simple and effective way and transform it into knowledge that supports the making of strategic decisions that help improve the service.

The start-up of the service will begin immediately: within two months FCC will be operating the new street cleaning service with new investments and machinery and replacing all refuse containers in the city. The total implementation of the new waste collection equipment will be completed within seven months.