The mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcalaemphasized the fact that “the sustainability “has become the basic tool for city design” at the close of the conference organized by Advanced tertiary And Waters of Alicante “An hour of change” on the future challenges of cities. “Alicante is experiencing a great process of physical, social and structural transformation with sustainability as a common denominator.”
Barcala reviewed the progress made in the provincial capital and its surroundings in terms of health management. wastemanagement of water resourcessustainability of tourism, energy efficiency and sustainable mobility, during an event organized at the Alicante Water Museum in Los Pozos de Garrigós, attended by representatives of the cities that hosted the previous conferences: San Vicente del Raspeig, El Campello, Monforte del Cid, Petrer and Sant Joan d’Alacant.
In terms of waste management, the mayor highlighted the deployment of container brown for the collection of organic waste throughout the city with the establishment of nearly 2,000 devices and the development of a special line at the Alicante Waste Transformation Center (CETRA) for their conversion into compost for crops and gardens and into energy. Barcala highlighted that during these two years, CETRA will accumulate investments of more than 17 million to improve its machines and increase the selection of waste from the gray container of the remaining fraction and reduce the final deposit in the landfill.
The mayor also highlighted that Alicante was one of the first municipalities in the Valencian Community to approve its Local Waste Plan and the promotion of a network of ecoparks to facilitate the selection of waste at source with the aim of “ to apply transversal and universal sustainability, promoting co-responsibility.
In terms of water resources management, Barcala highlighted that “in the Alacantí region, water is used drop by drop, this objective being consolidated in the strategies “Alicante, circular water” and “Alicante, green heart” for the reuse of all water resources. purified water in the irrigation of crop fields and gardens. “Alicante already irrigates more than 80% of its water with regenerated water from wastewater treatment plants. parks And land», Underlined the mayor.
It also highlighted reference infrastructures such as the flood-prone park of The Marjal and improvements in conveyance and purification, as well as new infrastructure for rainwater collection and wastewater improvement which will be launched in the years to come with investments exceeding 100 million euros and which will benefit the capital and surrounding communities.
The mayor also highlighted the advances in tourism sustainability and warned of the risk of “dying of success with the growth of tourism”, which is why he chose to develop an “increasingly competitive tourism product » for which he works. Strategic plan of Alicante as a sustainable tourist destination 2023-2027 through 22 projects which promote sustainability, environmental restoration, sustainable mobility and accessibility, thanks to European funding from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) and funds New generation. In this sense, he gave as an example the project of regeneration of the beach of the almadraba.
In terms of energy efficiency, Barcala highlighted that only with the implementation of photovoltaic panels In 33 schools the city’s public spaces have managed to reduce electricity consumption by 30%, in a project that covers the entire city with the replacement of lighting with technology DIRECTED more efficient and is moving towards self-consumption with the installation of solar panels in buildings and municipal installations.
Barcala also highlighted that Alicante is leading the Valencian Community and Spain in electromobility in public bus transport with the incorporation of 23 electric vehicles “0 emissions” and 25 hybrids, reaching half of the fleet in a task that will be completed in the coming years. It also highlighted the savings made by CO2 since the implementation of TRAM in the city, a 100% electric mode of transport and the development of projects for the installation of new electric charging stations for private vehicles promoted by the Mancomunidad de l’Alacantí or the implementation of on-demand transport in rural areas, as well as progress to connect Elche and Alicante with a single transport card or the improvement of cycle-pedestrian connections between the two cities.
The mayor also detailed other actions aimed at improving sustainability in Alicante, such as the upcoming implementation of the low emissions zone without restrictions or sanctions since “Alicante has particular meteorological and orographic characteristics that help mitigate air pollution , the increase in green spaces. and the planting of new trees, the traffic calming actions carried out on the coastal front and on the Gadea-Soto-Marvá axis, as well as the seven actions of the IDAE work among the two castlesinitiatives to combat excess noise in the city such as the ZAS or the ordinance on the occupation of public roads, among other initiatives aimed at respecting the Goals of sustainability marked by the UN in the Urban Agenda 2030.
