The Granadilla de Abona Town Council unanimously ratified an institutional motion yesterday, requesting the Spanish Government to abolish the mandatory aspect of the new waste fee established in the Law on Waste and Contaminated Soils. The motion accepted encompasses proposals from both the PSOE and the PP, who co-manage the local government, alongside a suggestion from CC advocating for the fee’s removal, citing its “adverse effect on family finances and the ambiguity surrounding its application criteria.” This marks the first instance of opposition to this new fee, despite an agreed text and within the framework of a local agreement with the PP in a municipality jointly governed by the socialists.
During the plenary session, both proposals were discussed, and a consensus was reached to merge them and eliminate party-specific references from the document, thereby endowing it with an official character. Among the key points agreed upon was a request for clearer national regulations, the return of income generated by the discharge tax to the municipalities, and the suspension of the new fee’s obligation until the uncertainties regarding its implementation are clarified.
This issue had been previously examined in an information commission held last week, where the PSOE and PP introduced an amendment that was dismissed by the Canarian Coalition. In response, the Socialist Party opted to propose an alternative motion yesterday.
David Santos, municipal spokesperson for the PSOE, pointed out the “discrepancy in criteria regarding the calculation and application of the new fee” and conveyed his “worries” about the financial implications of the necessary investments to update waste management services. “We are apprehensive that each new investment will necessitate a recalculation of the fee,” he remarked.
On the other hand, Marcos Antonio Rodríguez, spokesperson for the PP, highlighted that Granadilla de Abona is “the leader in the Canary Islands in waste separation, achieving 23%,” which is why it faces a fee he labelled as “unjust.” “Standardising these types of fees without considering the unique characteristics of each municipality is a blunder,” he asserted.
From CC, spokesperson José Domingo Regalado reiterated his opposition to a regulation that, as he contended, “affects citizens entirely.”
POLITICAL CONVERGENCE
The passage of the institutional motion was unexpected within the municipal political landscape, considering the ideological diversity present in the plenary session. The PSOE, the PP, and CC ultimately backed a measure that even received support from Vox.
The session also highlighted the challenges in achieving the objectives of the circular economy under the current legal framework. In this regard, Regalado commented that “this measure, in its existing state, does not promote citizen co-responsibility nor ensure equitable application among municipalities.”
