Whilst the residents of Torrevieja who pay an extortionate amount from the municipal budget for cleaning and still have to put up with dirty streets, alleged labour disputes with the workers, and antiquated contract-breaking vehicles, just down the N-332 in Santa Pola this could not me more different, thanks to the incorporation this week of new and modern machinery, much of it electric technology, which will make the work of municipal services more efficient.
Last week, the workers were playing with new beach cleaning machinery that their contractor, Urbaser, incorporated into the service thanks to the new contract for the next ten years, this time it is the turn of street cleaning of Santa Pola.
Mayor Loreto Serrano explained that “when we awarded the new contract we warned that we would need a period of time to order the manufacturing of all the elements, and today we are presenting part of the street cleaning machinery. They are specific equipment according to the different uses, many of them electric, to achieve the objective of making Santa Pola clean.” In Torrevieja, incidentally, their contractor, Acciona, seem to be simply ignoring their contractual obligations.
Serrano calls for citizen collaboration: “We all have to collaborate on this because, if we do not take care of our town, all the effort that the City Council is making will not be enough and we will continue to see spills and objects on our streets as before. All of us Santapoleros are making a very important effort investing in this new service. Please help us keep Santa Pola clean. And don’t worry, because the new containers, bins and the rest of the machines will arrive shortly.”
Alberto Bleda, Urbaser delegate in Alicante and Murcia, highlighted “the improvement that will be seen with the washdowns throughout the town thanks to this 6 m3 sweeper with a washdown lance, which will be able to remove the waste from under the cars that it will then collect. The stripper is also very important to clean our walks and the clearing and blowing machinery that is electric to avoid inconvenience to the neighbours when they are resting. All this is going to be a very big boost to improving cleaning in Santa Pola and little by little we are going to see the results.”
Equipment to be used
A new suction and drag sweeper will be used for mixed sweeping and washing, it is equipped with a hose with a pressurised water lance to be used through a pole system, which will allow the cleaning of stains of various types that may appear in the path and washing of pavements.
It will remove stains in the container delivery areas, stains from urine, and it will drag inaccessible waste located under parked cars with pressurised water so that the machine can vacuum it up.
Another notable machine is the hot water stripper and scrubber. It has a large dome for deep cleaning of paved areas, as well as a re-suction system that allows it to absorb water and all stains removed with high pressure and hot water.
The loader with drag sweeper will be used to remove material washed away by torrential rains or by accumulations of sand on walks and streets.
An operator wears a comfortable backpack that allows them to carry out the work of removing chewing gum with freedom of movement and ease of use. The unit is connected to an ergonomic lance designed to make work quick, safe and easy, to remove the largest number of gums with the combination of pressure, heat and cleaning solution.
The self-propelled brushcutter vehicle with the driver seated has great power and 4×4 traction not only for clearing, but also for cutting tall grasses or bushes with trunks up to 2.5 mm in diameter.
Another novelty is the weed dehydrator, which will be used to eliminate them through thermal shock; the heat will prevent them from sprouting again.
Electrical technology
Three electric combo vans are incorporated for the cleaning teams with a high-pressure cleaner trailer, electrically propelled without emissions and with capacity for 5 workers. By having a tow ball, the pressure washer can be attached for washing and mopping cleaning tasks.
An electric vehicle has also been presented for inspection, 3 clearing machines and 6 blowing machines, all of them electric, which will allow you to work early without disturbing the neighbours, in addition to not emitting a gram of CO2 into the atmosphere.
All these elements are already in use.
In the words of Jim Bowen, Torrevieja, “let´s have a look at what you could have won!”
