Valencia’s Local Police will begin reporting breaches of the city’s new street-cleaning ordinance on Tuesday, 13 October. The move ends an information period that began on 1 October, during which neighbourhood officers warned residents about the new obligations without yet moving into the enforcement phase.
The change covers everyday behaviour: leaving a rubbish bag outside a bin, abandoning furniture, dropping a cigarette butt or chewing gum, failing to pick up animal waste, or not washing away urine with water. The ordinance came into force on 15 June, but the City Council set 13 October as the enforcement date after a public-awareness campaign.
The maximum fine is not automatic
The penalty system has three bands: up to €750 for minor offences, €1,500 for serious offences and €3,000 for very serious ones. The top figure is a ceiling, not a fixed charge for every breach. The text approved by the council distinguishes between cases according to risk, damage, clean-up costs and the consequences for safety, public health or the condition of public space.
Dropping paper, chewing gum, extinguished cigarette butts or other small items away from a litter bin is classed as a minor offence. Failing to wash away an animal’s urine is also minor. By contrast, not immediately picking up animal faeces is serious, as is urinating or defecating in the street when no protected heritage feature is affected.
Waste left outside containers can move from serious to very serious when its impact on safety, public health or the street environment reaches that level. The same applies to abandoned furniture and household items. Graffiti on protected heritage features, and urinating or defecating on them, are listed directly as very serious offences.
Free furniture collection requires advance notice
Residents can arrange free municipal collection of mattresses, appliances and furniture instead of leaving them beside containers. Requests can be made through the 010 telephone line, the council website or its app. The ordinance says items must be placed outside the building at the time given by the service, rather than whenever is most convenient for the resident.
The door-to-door service has limits. Each request can cover up to five items or packages, with a combined volume of no more than five cubic metres and a maximum weight of 50 kilograms per package. Electrical and electronic appliances are limited to one per request when they are not handled through their own collection scheme.
What changes on Tuesday
Until Monday, the municipal campaign has been informational. From Tuesday, officers can issue reports, although an administrative case must still be processed before any fine is imposed. The Local Government Board is responsible for deciding cases, unless that power is delegated, and the ordinance sets a maximum resolution period of one year from the opening of proceedings.
Actual enforcement will show which behaviours account for the first reports and how the council sets amounts within each band. That will be the next verifiable development after the information campaign ends.