The Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council and the concessionaire company for the cleaning and waste collection service, Valoriza Servicios Medioambientales SA, under the brand Santa Cruz Limpia, continue to take significant steps in managing organic waste in the municipality, achieving a 98% purity in the fraction deposited in the brown containers available in the Salud-La Salle and Centro-Ifara districts. The commitment to helping citizens properly separate waste is the main goal to continue promoting the brown container, a new paradigm in recycling in the Tenerife capital, which has more than 400 brown containers.
The mayor of the municipality, José Manuel Bermúdez, explains that the Council’s commitment to sustainability is not limited to the implementation of new containers in the Tenerife capital but is part of a more structured roadmap aimed at transforming Santa Cruz de Tenerife into a “circular, green, and environmentally respectful city.” “We are already more than 200,000 residents in the municipality, and together, we can make our territory a benchmark of a clean, committed city prepared for the future,” he asserts.
In this regard, Bermúdez indicates that this strategy reinforces more sustainable waste management, which involves “reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills and promoting correct separation, reuse, and recycling.”
Meanwhile, the Councilor for Public Services, Carlos Tarife, assures that in recent years, data shows that the population of Santa Cruz de Tenerife “not only recycles more but does so better, and this drives us to continue improving and innovating in public services.”
Furthermore, Tarife indicates that achieving 98% purity in organic waste is the direct result of the commitment of the capital’s residents. “This level reflects a gradual learning and an increasingly responsible attitude in the municipality’s households,” he explains.
In this regard, the City Council reminds that in the brown container, you can deposit fruit and vegetables; bread, pastries, and other foods such as meat and fish, nuts, or egg shells. Also, through the so-called “fifth container,” you can separate kitchen paper waste, napkins, and coffee grounds and tea infusions, among others.
The collected organic waste is transported to recycling plants, like the one in Arico, where they are transformed into high-quality compost, a fundamental natural resource to improve soil fertility, reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers, and promote sustainable agriculture on the island. Proper separation of organic matter not only benefits the environment by reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills but also contributes to the circular economy.
Committed to the environment
In 2024, the Tenerife capital has clearly demonstrated its commitment to the environment and waste management by collecting a total of 1,650,390 kilos of organic waste, representing a significant increase of 32.04% from the previous year. This success is the result of a comprehensive strategy combining infrastructure investment and strong public awareness.
Currently, Santa Cruz de Tenerife has collected a total of 574,180 kilos of organic waste in the first four months of 2025, showing the growing involvement of its residents.
The City Council’s aim is to extend the organic waste separation and collection service to more than 5,000 households and over 130 establishments in the remainder of the year, in line with its commitment to sustainable development and mitigating the effects of climate change.
