The Almerian capital has initiated the implementation of an ambitious cleaning contract that will span seven years, with a budget of 193 million euros. The concessionaire, Acciona Servicios Urbanos, will apply a new work philosophy based on flexibility and technology, moving away from rigid schedules and routes to offer a 'tailored' service for each area.
The development of the service will be progressive, with a ten-month deadline for the concessionaire to have one hundred percent of the human and mechanical teams in place. The Councilor for Environmental and Energy Sustainability, Antonio Urdiales, is confident that improvements will be visible from October. One of the novelties is the reinforcement of street washing, which will now also be carried out in the afternoons in areas of high tourist influx such as the Paseo, the historic center, El Zapillo, Ciudad Jardín, La Vega, Nueva Almería, El Toyo-Retamar, and Cabo de Gata.
The network of operational bases will be expanded from five to nine 'depots', allowing operators to act more quickly and precisely, reducing response times to 15 minutes. Workers will debut new machinery, including GPS-equipped pushcarts for precise route control and task efficiency.
Artificial Intelligence will be used to adapt tasks to weather conditions, especially wind, a technology expected to be fully implemented in September. In total, 140 new devices will be progressively incorporated.
The new model is based on operational flexibility, with nine cleaning levels activated according to population density, season, citizen influx, and the specific characteristics of each neighborhood, commercial sector, or coastal stretch, prioritizing water usage. AI will monitor the city's needs in real-time to optimize workflows.
The contract also includes the cleaning of previously neglected areas, such as vacant lots and access road verges, as well as urban green spaces and the entire 30 kilometers of coastline, including dog-friendly and natural beaches. Beach cleaning operations are postponed until next summer's season, although the stretch from Costacabana to Torregarcía is already being cleaned this summer.
Urban furniture will be renewed, with the installation of 2,000 new bins (500 freestanding and 1,500 hanging) in the first year, representing approximately 50% of the current inventory. Hanging bins will be prioritized to improve accessibility and reduce sidewalk obstacles. As a technological novelty, 18 smart bins with compaction systems and fill sensors will be installed.
