Oviedo City Council has awarded the new waste collection and street cleansing contract to FCC Medio Ambiente, which has been providing these services uninterruptedly since 1967. The order book value is worth €245 million for the next nine years, with a possible one-year extension.

The renewal seeks to maintain the satisfaction levels of Oviedo residents with the cleanliness of the city, which ranked first in the latest assessment survey conducted by the Spanish Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) and has already received the Platinum Broom (Escoba de Platino) award eleven times, the highest distinction awarded every two years by the Technical Association for Waste Management and the Environment (ATEGRUS), which the city has received without interruption since 2002.

The new service involves 400 professionals and is committed to sustainability, with around 150 vehicles, over 90% of which are low-emission, including electric, hybrid and compressed natural gas (CNG) powered units. Similarly, the operations fleet depot has photovoltaic solar panels to cover a large part of its energy consumption and boasts charging points for electric vehicles and CNG refuelling points. Technological innovation is another fundamental pillar of the renewal, with the implementation of the VISION global digital service control platform, developed by FCC Medio Ambiente, which, among other applications, controls routes and tasks, waste generation by type, and vehicle effectiveness, and facilitates data exploitation and the generation of reports and certifications in order to have much more direct communication with the municipal team and promote service optimisation.

The waste collection service, which manages more than 70,000 tonnes annually, is introducing a series of improvements, including the simultaneous collection of residual and organic waste in the city centre on a daily basis, which will reduce the percentage of inappropriate waste in the organic fraction, more frequent collection of household glass, the implementation of domestic oil collection, and the introduction of user and waste identification through RFID TAGS in all bins and containers in hospitality establishments and large producers. The container fleet is being completely renewed and a new mobile recycling centre service will be created with three teams that will be deployed daily in different locations covering the main neighbourhoods and rural areas.

In the street cleansing service, which covers over one million square metres, there has been an increase in the use of mechanical sweeping equipment during the day in neighbourhoods and rural areas, a reduction in noise during night-time washing with the incorporation of 100% electric equipment, and the implementation of specific equipment for washing litter bins. All motorised sweeping equipment operating in the city centre, neighbourhoods, parks, and rural areas will be equipped with a pressure washer system for excrement and specific stains, which will provide greater autonomy and improve service quality.

Social sustainability is particularly important in the new contract, and the company has committed to prioritising the selection of unemployed people residing in the municipality and surrounding areas in future recruitment, demonstrating the company's dedication to the sustainable urban development of the communities in which it operates. In addition, various communication campaigns will be carried out to promote public awareness and make the population part of the care of their city.