Implementing a new model of urban solid waste management at a local scale: application to the municipality of l'alcora (castellón, spain)

Abstract

The implementation of efficient municipal waste management systems is crucial to address current environmental challenges. These systems allow for the minimization of waste generation, promotion of reuse and recycling, and proper management of remaining waste. By reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills, soil, water, and air pollution decreases, and the emission of greenhouse gases is limited. Moreover, efficient municipal waste management fosters the circular economy by recovering valuable resources from waste, thereby contributing to the conservation of raw materials and long-term sustainability. This work presents a methodology for urban waste management tailored to medium-sized municipalities (approximately 10,000 inhabitants). It highlights the resources and tools available at the municipal level to achieve the objectives set by European Directives on waste management. These resources encompass environmental communication and information, economic, fiscal, and regulatory instruments, as well as a proposal for a model of urban solid waste collection. The proposed methodology is applied to the municipality of l'Alcora (Castellón, Spain), whose current management model relies on anonymous municipal waste collection, where citizens voluntarily decide where to dispose of their waste based on their environmental awareness, without any form of reward or penalty for their actions. This voluntariness and limited promotion of environmental awareness have led to a general lack of interest among the population in waste management. This situation has, in general, caused Spain to lag behind other EU member states in achieving the goals of waste prevention, valorization, and recycling set by the European Union.