Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

Legislative Decree 1/2009 of 21 July approving the Revised Text of Law 6/1993 governing waste in Catalonia came into force on 28 July 2009. This decree applies to the waste generated by economic activities, which must be managed at the cost of the owner of the activity that generates or owns this waste.

All owners of waste-generating activities in Barcelona can choose to either be covered by the municipal collection system, based on the area in which the establishment is located, or manage their waste collection through private waste managers and transport companies registered with the Waste Agency of Catalonia. In the latter case, they must provide documentary proof of such private management. 

With the law governing waste, in the case of Barcelona, ​​the waste rate becomes a public-sector charge that is reviewed on an annual basis pursuant to the general legislation of municipal public-sector charges.

This charge covers the selective collection service for the various waste fractions – residual, organic, paper/cardboard, glass and packaging – generated by retail and wholesale trading, the hotel and restaurant industry, bars and cafés, markets, offices and services, and the waste from industry that is classified in the same category as municipal waste, in any of the collection methods established by the Barcelona Environment Bye-Law, as well as its transport by the municipal services to the treatment and recycling plants. 
The obligation to pay the public-sector charge arises with the use of the service or the start of the activity if the corresponding City Council approval for the use of the private selective collection service or reverse logistics system has not been received.

In order to use the waste collection service, all natural and legal persons that carry out an economic activity must register for this charge in the census and file a self-assessment for the first year using the standard form available on the Tax Office's website. This procedure enables minimal, small, medium and significant generators to self-assess for the waste collection charge. 

If it is a minimal producer, the owner of the professional activity must first check the 'Reduction of the waste collection charge for minimal producers' procedure.

If it is a large generator of waste, the relevant procedure will be the 'Declaration of the commercial and industrial waste collection charge for large generators'. 

Minimal, small, medium and significant generators: activities in which the sum of the volumes generated by the residual and organic fractions is no greater than 900 l/day, or with a generated volume of paper, glass or light containers no greater than 900 l/week. The price is calculated based on the surface area of the premises and the heading into which the economic activity fits (see Article 10 of the Regulations on Public-Sector Charges).

Large generators: activities in which the sum of the volumes generated by the residual and organic fractions is greater than 900 l/day, or with a generated volume of paper and glass greater than 900 l/week. The price is calculated based on the quantity of tubs or containers collected every day (residual fraction), plus an annual fee for the tubs of other fractions (organic, paper and glass). 

All owners of activities deemed to be large generators must request a waste generation survey (EGR) within one month from the date of start of operations (see Art. 11 of the Regulations on Public-Sector Charges). If this survey is not requested, the company/establishment will be deemed to voluntarily accept the municipal service, and the volume of waste generated will be estimated for the purpose of assessing the public-sector charges in accordance with the established rates and correction coefficients.

The EGR request can be submitted by means of a petition at any citizen care and information office or at the Urban Ecology Register. 

Article 7 of Annex III of the General Regulations on Public-Sector Charges

All shops, offices and companies that benefit from the provision of the municipal service are required to pay unless the appropriate City Council approval for the use of the private selective collection service or reverse logistics system has been received.

1. The annual fee for establishments in which the sum of the volumes generated by the residual and organic fractions is no greater than 900 l/day, or whose generated volume of paper/cardboard, glass or light containers is no greater than 900 l/week, is established as follows: 

a) The volume of generated waste, calculated on a preliminary basis based on the surface area of the premises, establishments, offices and others where the activity is carried out, and which results in their classification as minimal, small, medium and significant generators, as provided in Article 5, section 1. 

b) The composition of the fractions of waste generated, established on a preliminary basis based on the activity headings, and which results in their classification into groups A, B, C, D or E, as provided in Article 5, section 2. 

2. The annual fee for establishments in which the sum of the volumes generated by the residual and organic fractions is greater than 900 l/day, or whose generated volume of paper/cardboard, glass or light containers is greater than 900 l/week, considered as large generators, is established based on the number of litres per day collected from the residual fraction and on the cost of delivery, replacement, maintenance and cleaning (1 intensive washing and 2 mechanical ones) of the buckets or containers used for the collection of the organic matter, glass, paper/cardboard and light packaging selective fractions. 

3. All fees are subject to Value Added Tax, at a reduced rate. 

4. The use of the pneumatic collection system with exclusive internal nozzles: The organic fraction rate is placed in the same category as the annual cost of collecting a 660-litre tub of any selective fraction. 
The residual fraction rate is established based on the number of additional vacuum collections required to ensure that all the waste is taken. The price per vacuum collection is placed in the same category as the cost of collecting the residual fraction of a 660-litre container. 

5. Occasional or extraordinary collections. Price per service: The prices defined for the residual fraction for each bucket collected apply regardless of the type of fraction being collected.

The following do not have to pay

· The owners of activities that generate commercial and industrial waste that can be classified as municipal waste and can prove that they have the City Council’s approval for the use of the private collection service or reverse logistics system as provided in Article 14. This will be approved if all the waste generated is managed privately.
· The owners of activities without a declared surface area. 
· The owners of activities that generate industrial waste that cannot be classified as municipal waste.

Incentives and reductions

a) Seasonal activities: Seasonal activities subject to occupancy licences for public spaces will enjoy a 50% reduction of the applicable rate, provided that the said activity is carried out for no more than six months.

b) Waste management by means of private waste managers and transport companies. Public-sector charges may be reduced when the owners of activities generating commercial and industrial waste that can be classified as municipal waste can prove that any of the waste fractions generated have City Council approval for the use of the private selective collection service or reverse logistics system as provided in Article 14, for the current year. In order to obtain the reduction, if an activity produces the organic and residual fractions, the two fractions must be delivered separately to private operators or by means of reverse logistics systems. It must also be possible to verify that they are managed separately and are being subjected to the specific treatment stipulated in the current waste management legislation.

c) Recognition of the contribution to the Citizen Commitment to Sustainability. A 10% reduction on the resulting rates will be applied to those organisations and companies in Barcelona that have put in place an action plan in the framework of Barcelona’s Citizen Commitment to Sustainability through one of the following two routes:

– Those organisations that have signed the Citizen Commitment to Sustainability with a published and implemented sustainability action plan. Schools must have an action plan in place in the framework of the Barcelona + Sustainable Schools programme during the school year in which the public-sector charge is applied. In the case of all other organisations, the action plan must have been published no later than on 30 June of the year immediately preceding that of the application of the charge.

– Those economic and professional activities linked to an association, guild or professional association signatory of the Citizen Commitment to Sustainability and that have declared that they were joining the current sustainability action plan for their associative organisation and carried out the actions proposed during the year immediately preceding that of the application of the charge.

The fact that they have joined the sustainability plan must have been declared by the associate no later than on 30 June of the year immediately preceding that of the application of the charge, by means of an online form or a paper form sent by the organisation to its members. The membership of these economic and professional activities to the relevant association, guild or professional association must have been certified by their organisation by means of a list of the members that have joined the plan.

Chains of establishments, franchises, shopping centres, corporate groups, guilds, shopping areas and associations, even if they are associated with a higher-level organisation, must have developed their own action plan so that their member establishments are able to join it and enjoy the reduction in the public-sector charge.

The reduction will not apply to the owners of activities that have been the subject of two unappealable sanctions for failure to comply with the waste legislation in the last twelve months.

d) Users of the Mercabarna [Barcelona wholesale market] Green Point. All those activities that can prove that they use the Mercabarna Green Point for the delivery of the residual, organic, paper/cardboard and packaging fractions, and that so request, will be able to enjoy the reduction associated with the relevant residual fraction coefficient. The documents must be submitted within the first two months of the current year, at any municipal register, marked for the attention of the Municipal Institute for the Treasury. Documents submitted after this time will not be accepted. The documents must be submitted and validated every year.

e) Professional activities carried out from home. The owners of professional activities classified as minimal producers – with a surface area of activity of 25 m² or less – that carry out their professional activity at their registered residential address, individually and without employees, will enjoy a reduction of 100% of the applicable rate of the public-sector charge. 
 

Recommendations for different business activities

Below are a few recommendations for improving waste management in the various activities carried out in the city. 

General recommendations

· The best waste is waste that is not created. Avoid unnecessary packaging, buy rationally, use reusable materials. 
· Recycle as many materials as possible. 
· Do not leave any waste next to containers or simply left on the public highway. 
· Adhere to the times stipulated for taking out the rubbish. 
· Establishments that generate waste whose characteristics may disturb residents (such as smell, loss of waste or decomposition of organic matter) must:

1) Use bags of a suitable thickness or two bags together in order to ensure that they don’t rip when being thrown into the container. 
2) Ensure that bags are properly closed so that they don’t open when being thrown into the container.

· Remember that business activities can either organise collection through municipal services or hire private waste managers or transport companies registered with the Waste Agency of Catalonia to provide the service. 

· The City Council has a free helpline (900 702 030) available for businesses for any queries that may arise when managing their waste. It also provides tailored training in the management of commercial and industrial waste that can be classified as municipal waste. This service is also free and can be requested by calling +34 932 389 350 or sending an email to formacio@siresa.cat.

Organic waste. Sorting is mandatory, whether they are in commercial collection areas or home collection. It is also compulsory for large waste generators. 
Cardboard boxes. We must manage them as cardboard in general: 
In commercial collection areas they must me left in the established schedules during the collection days. 
In areas without commercial collection, they must be folded and desposited in blue containers which can be found in streets. 
Vegetable oil. Sorting is mandatory and collection must be proved by hiring a private manager (the establishment must have a copy of the contract in force with a collection company authorized by the Waste Agency of Catalonia) or waste delivery vouchers in any green dot within ​​the city.

The City Council promotes what we call “Greening offices and organisations”. This means: 

•  commitment to environmental preservation; 
• savings in consumption of energy and materials; 
• reducing waste prodution; 
• improving the quality of life in the workplace; 
• strengthening public image of the organization. 

For all these reasons, we must work to improve waste management processes. Even though it requires effort to overcome certain routines, it will enable major improvements.

At the office: 

• ​Bins should be placed to deliver paper which cannot be reused. Make sure that the company responsible for cleaning the office places it according to the management model and that it is not mixed with other trash from the office. The City Council provides different models for managing paper and cardboard depending on production and the area. 
• For the non-recyclable trash —the so-called remains—, please follow these rules: 
  o Place them always into containers, never outside. 
  o Do not place them on the street before 8p.m. 
• For other special waste, such as fluorescent tubes, batteries and toner cartridges, please use the green gots.

Make sure the company responsible for cleaning the office follows waste sorting and manages separately and correctly each type of waste. It is advisable to include into cleaning contracts environmental clauses which lead to sorting office waste. 

On this website you will find the programme that the Ajuntament + Sostenible ("City Council + Sustainable") follows internally.

Organic waste. Sorting is mandatory, whether they are in commercial collection areas or home collection. It is also compulsory for large waste generators. 

Plastic or wood boxes. There are several options regarding their management: 

• You can return them to Mercabarna Green Dot the next day before loading the fruit. 
• You can deliver them Green Dots within ​​the city. 
• You can return them to the goods supplier. 
• Do not place them next to street containers. 

Cardboard boxes. We must manage them as cardboard in general: 

• In commercial collection areas they must me left in the established schedules during the collection days. 
• In areas without commercial collection, they must be folded and desposited in blue containers which can be found in streets. 
• You can always use Green Dots or Mercabarna Green Dot.

Organic waste. Sorting is mandatory, whether they are in commercial collection areas or home collection. It is also compulsory for large waste generators. 
Waste should be deposited into bags with a proper thickness or double bags. They should be closed in order to avoid drops and bad small. 
Porexpan® boxes. The boxes which have contained fish can be returned to the Mercabarna Green Dot the day before loading new fish. These boxes cannot be place next to street containers.

Cardboard boxes. The logistics company which distributes/supplies most of packs of cigarettes offers the possibility to take away empty and properly folded packs when supplying the following order of tobacco. 

This logistics system has been promoted by the City Council and Associació d'Expenedors de Tabacs i Timbres de Barcelona i Província as part of the Civic Agreement for a clean and sustainable city. It enables: 

• To take profit of and recycle 100% of cartboard boxes. 
• To reduce the waste volume from the streets. 

Other ways to manage cardboards: 

• In commercial collection areas they must me left in the established schedules during the collection days. 
• In areas without commercial collection, they must be folded and desposited in blue containers which can be found in streets. 
• Under no circumstances can they be left next to street.

Old furniture must not be placed freely on the street. It is advisable to coordinate the day when new furniture is delivered to customers with the day 900 226 226 allocates for the free collection of furniture and junk. Stores could provide this service on behalf of clients and be responsible for the process before delivering furniture. 

If it is not possible, please use the green dots in your area. Shops belonging to Gremi del Comerç de Mobles ("Association of Furniture Trade") in the framework of the Civic Agreement have a 50% discount on the Green Dots price if they previously show the card sent by the union.

Old furniture must not be placed freely on the street. It is advisable to coordinate the day when new furniture is delivered to customers with the day 900 226 226 allocates for the free collection of furniture and junk. Stores could provide this service on behalf of clients and be responsible for the process before delivering matresses. 
If it is not possible, please use the green dots in your area. Shops belonging to Gremi de Matalassers ("Association of Mattress Shops") in the framework of the Civic Agreement have a 50% discount on the Green Dots price if they previously show the card sent by the union.

Services to be offered when selling appliances and electronics: 

Under the new EU directive to regulate the rights and obligations regarding the proper management of waste from electrical and electronic equipment, establishments have to offer citizens a collection service for old appliances* free of charge when purchasing a new one: 

*Appliances and electronics:

• Large appliances 
• Small appliances 
• Computing and telecommunication systems 
• Consumer electronics 
• Lighting equipment 
• Electrical and electronic tools 
• Toys or sports and leisure equipment 
• Medical equipment 
• Monitoring tools 
• Vending machines 

Packaging. Large packaging from appliances must be managed properly. 
Cardboard packaging: 

• In commercial collection areas they must me left in the established schedules during the collection days. 
• In areas without commercial collection, they must be folded and desposited in blue containers which can be found in streets. 
• Protection materials, such as Porexpan®, can be delivered to Green Dots.

In general, supermarkets are considered large waste generators. 
For further information on the specific management of each section, please see the sections regarding fish shops, fruit shops, etc.

Most waste from garages are considered special waste. We must ensure that they are treated properly. For this reason it is recommended: 

• To hire a company that is responsible for waste management, or otherwise assign it to different specialist companies (integrated management systems).. 
• To use Green Dots area taking into account the limit amounts of these materials determined by regulations.

Plants and flowers waste is organic. Sorting is mandatory, whether they are in commercial collection areas or home collection. It is also compulsory for large waste generators.

Larg objects or junk not be placed freely on the street. It is advisable to coordinate the day when new furniture is delivered to customers with the day 900 226 226 allocates for the free collection of furniture and junk. Stores could provide this service on behalf of clients and be responsible for the process before delivering furniture. 

If it is not possible, please use the green dots in your area. Shops belonging to Gremi de Serrallers ("Locksmiths Association") in the framework of the Civic Agreement have a 50% discount on the Green Dots price if they previously show the card sent by the union

Organic waste. Sorting is mandatory, whether they are in commercial collection areas or home collection. It is also compulsory for large waste generators. 

The Barcelona Education Consortium, along with IMEB, coordinates different types of selective collection in schools. Among other things, it also coordinates recycling and display of organic waste and remains. Sorting of organic waste is mandatory, whether schools are located in commercial collection areas or home collection. It is also compulsory for large waste generators.

Local regulations regarding management of different types of waste must be followed. 

Concerning types of waste groups responsible to local services, remember that most hospitals and clinics are considered large waste generators and are under the obligations described in the corresponding section. 

Organic waste. If the hospital is a large generator of waste, sorting into internal containers is mandatory. Sorting is mandatory, whether they are in commercial collection areas or home collection.

Cardboard boxes. They should be managed as general cardboard: 

• In commercial collection areas they must me left in the established schedules during the collection days. 
• In areas without commercial collection, they must be folded and desposited in blue containers which can be found in streets. 
• You can always use Green Dots or Mercabarna Green Dot.

Expired medicines. This type of medicines are managed through SIGRE container system. 

Chemical or special waste. The City Council and the College of Pharmacists have foreseen the possibility of delivering waste to Green Dots on specific dates. The College can provide further information about this possibility.

Dead animals. The Council has a collection service for dead animals, which is regulated by a public fee. To use it, please call 010.

• Waste sorting in the office should be respected and properly managed. 
• If in the office there is no waste sorting, advice on the best way to do it should be given by recommending, for example, paper types and spaces reserved for recycling. 
• Under no circumstances can waste be place on the street 20 hours before or after waste collection trucks pass. 
• It is advisable to include into cleaning contracts environmental clauses which lead to sorting office waste.