Vitoria-Gasteiz was awarded the Platinum Broom this Wednesday afternoon, June 10th, in Madrid. This is the highest recognition granted by the Technical Association for Waste Management and Environment (ATEGRUS). This year, the distinction honors the new exploitation plan for the municipal landfill, a strategy that has transformed waste management in the Alava capital.

The Councilor for Environmental Management, Pascual Borja, detailed the scope of the measures implemented at the facility: "This award acknowledges the work and investments such as the sealing of cells, the expansion of the leachate treatment plant, or the hiring of technical direction carried out in recent years, representing an investment exceeding 6 million euros."

Independent cells to facilitate future recycling. These aspects were decisive for the jury responsible for awarding the Platinum Brooms. In their official ruling, the tribunal positively evaluated the design of the new exploitation plan, highlighting that the system "will integrate distinct, specialized, and hydraulically independent cells to accommodate waste with similar characteristics or valorization potential, thus avoiding mixing."

The objective of this selective storage goes beyond simple waste disposal. According to the jury's own assessment, the use of these individualized cells "facilitates their potential recovery when the best available techniques allow, enabling them to be extracted for new uses and returned to the production cycle."

An internationally recognized award at TECMA. The award was presented in the south auditorium of the IFEMA exhibition center, as part of the activities of the International Urbanism and Environment Fair (TECMA). These awards, presented biennially, have significant international reach and have become the leading reference in the urban cleaning and waste collection sector.

With this recognition, Vitoria-Gasteiz adds another Platinum Broom to its history, following those obtained in the 2022 and 2024 editions. In 2022, the municipality was awarded for its Circularity Strategy in waste management. That candidacy stood out for projects like Birgurpil, focused on reusing bicycle tire rubber for road signage, or the Konpondu initiative.

In 2024, the award was granted for the development of the vandalism removal project coordinated by the Virtual Graffiti Office (OVG). This service mapped Vitoria-Gasteiz to identify affected areas and perpetrators, engaging with them to secure a commitment to non-repetition.