The city of Ibiza has a population of 50,000 people. In the summer, waste volumes increase from three million people either staying or visiting from neighbouring tourist resorts. Approximately 30 to 35,000 tons of residual waste and source segregated recyclables are produced each year in Ibiza city. Waste management therefore is an important task.
On the June 3, 2016, the city awarded a 10-year waste collection contract to Valoriza Servicios Medioambientales. To provide the new service, Valoriza invested in ten new waste collection vehicles from Geesinknorba Spain. Two Geesinknorba ‘N2’ series 9L22 9m3 narrow rear loading units fitted with Geesinknorba’s L200 bin lifting equipment were purchased mounted onto Iveco Eurocargo 150E Euro 6 4×2 12 tonne chassis. They have electrical connection equipment fitted for the raising and lowering of the underground waste collection systems used in the old part of the city. Two Geesinknorba ‘G’ series GPMIV 16H25 16m3 rear loading units fitted with Geesinknorba’s GCB 1000 series bin lifting equipment were also purchased. These are mounted onto Iveco Stralis AD190S/P CNG-compressed natural gas 4×2 18 tonne chassis.
The Geesinknorba ‘G and N’ series units have Geesinknorba’s renowned ‘Smartpack’ system fitted. This uses the minimum amount of fuel from the vehicle’s pump to operate the bin lift and compaction equipment which improves fuel consumption.
Six AMS CL1-N (21) 21m3 side loading waste collection units were also acquired complete with roof mounted doors to prevent waste scatter. The units are fitted with electrical connections for the opening of underground waste collection systems and are mounted onto Iveco Stralis AD260SY/PS CNG-compressed natural gas powered 6×2 rear steer 26 tonne chassis. All of the Iveco chassis have Allison’s 3200R automatic transmission fitted with a retarder and reduces driver fatigue in the start/stop operation of waste collection.
Valoriza’s decision to award Geesinknorba Spain the contract for the new fleet of waste collection vehicles was because of their good experience operating similar equipment at their Albacete and Madrid waste collection contracts. A high quality product backed by a good after sales and service were also deciding factors.
The sizes of waste collection containers used across the city range from 1,000 liter capacity for rear loader collection to 3,200 liter capacity for side loader collection. There are seventy underground waste collection points across the city which house the 1000 liter containers. Valoriza, in conjunction with Ibiza city, are currently building a network of underground waste collection points for the placement of 3,000 liter side loading containers. This will eliminate the sight of the bins at street level and will allow more space for car parking.
The 1,000 liter rear loading containers are used at hotels while the 3,200 liter side loader containers are used for the collection of residual waste, plastic, glass and paper and cardboard across the city’s streets. The residual waste and mixed glass is collected daily but plastic, paper and cardboard are collected on alternate days. In tourist areas, recyclables are collected daily. A door to door collection of recyclables e.g. glass, plastic and paper and cardboard, is provided to hotels on a daily basis. This has proved very successful with 60% of plastics being diverted from the hotels’ waste streams in 2017.
The waste collection crews consist of a driver and two operatives for the rear loading vehicles and a single driver for the operation of the side loading vehicles. The waste collection service is operated through two waste collection shifts. The first starts at 5.30am and finishes at midday, while the second starts at 11pm and finishes at 5am. The collection service is provided seven days a week.
Each collection vehicle collects two loads of waste on both morning and night shifts and delivers it to the island’s sanitary landfill site operated by UTE GIREF. The city is a partner in the ‘INTERWASTE’ programme which consists of a group of European municipalities working together to plan sustainable waste management systems for their towns and cities. It has been involved with this project for two years and has been party to agreeing, with its other European counterparts, to four main objectives: increasing the selective collection of waste, types of containers to be used to achieve this, identifying suitable containers for placement in areas of historical interest and the reduction of waste. With forming this plan, the municipality is planning to reschedule the collections of waste and change the types of containers it uses in the future to meet these goals.
In an interview with Ms. Sandra Romero, Environmental Technician for Ibiza city, with Ms. Montse Garcia Cuenca Councillor for the Environment present, she said, “Valoriza Servicios Medioambientales was awarded the new waste collection contract after participating in an open tender for the award of the new service. Valoriza offered the best value in terms of service delivery, vehicles, equipment and their associated technology”. She went onto say, “It was a mandatory requirement of the tender that Valoriza had to install GIS/GPS and RFID tag reading systems in all of the new vehicles. The purpose of this was so that both Valoriza and Ibiza city could see where trucks were in real time on the collection routes using the GIS/GPS system. The RFID system would provide information to both parties on the emptying of each container as well as the reproduction of the vehicles’ collection routes”. From this data gathered, Valoriza and Ibiza city can further improve the efficiency of the waste collection service.
In conclusion, Valoriza Servicios Medioambientales provides a very efficient and professional waste collection system for the city of Ibiza. This is the first environmental services contract that Valoriza has won in the Balearic islands and is a case study demonstrating the investment in technology and infrastructure made by the company. It is evident that from this investment, Valoriza will provide a sustainable waste management system for Ibiza city for both the present and the future.
For more information, contact Timothy Byrne B.Sc., (Wastes Management), MCIWM, ISWA IWM, at 0044 1384 211001 or 0044 7545 616110 or via e-mail at [email protected]. For more information, visit https://geesinknorba.com.