Rubbish Collection in Fuerteventura

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Here in Fuerteventura we don’t have wheelie bins and a weekly or fortnightly rubbish collection.  This is the case in many northern European countries.  Instead we have large bins positioned in most streets are emptied overnight every day, except Sunday. There are also strategically placed recycling bins for paper, glass, cardboard etc around each town/village. I actually think the system works much better here.

Fuerteventura Rubbish Collection
A rubbish bin in La Oliva

In order that the bins don’t smell too much by being full in the heat all day you can only throw rubbish in them at certain times. These are between 20:00 and 02:00 hours from October to March and 21:00 to 02:00 hours from April to September. Not unreasonably, the waste must be in a closed bag when it is put in the bins.

Rubbish collection in Fuerteventura

If you are spotted by the local police (wardens with guns) throwing your rubbish in the bins outside of these times you can get a fine of up to 3,000€ . Well, if you aren’t a local that is of course!  Mind you, it seems it is ok for the rubbish which is put in the bin on Saturday evening to sit in a hot bin all day on Sunday getting smelly until it is emptied on Monday morning. I can just imagine what my colleagues and I would have said in the Police if we were told we had to fine people throwing rubbish in bins outside of certain hours!

During 2016  295 fines were issued in Corralejo; 6 in El Cotillo; 2 in Lajares; 1 in Parque Holandés and Villaverde.

The Mayor, Pedro Amador, said “We live in a paradise that we must care for, a land that is visited every day by thousands of tourists, we must continue to give our best image.” 

9 responses to “Rubbish Collection in Fuerteventura”

  1. mla avatar
    mla

    Hello JP thank you that was very useful. Do you know if this rule applies to recycling waste as well?

    1. admin avatar
      admin

      In theory it applies to food waste only, or at least that is the reasoning behind it, but the police don’t seem to care about that. I put glass in the recycling bins during the day.

  2. mla avatar
    mla

    Best stick to the set times then. Thanks JP

  3. toon avatar
    toon

    Good to know!
    Thanks for the article!
    Would you happen to know where the rubbish is taken?
    I suppose it is not incinerated, but dumped somewhere?

    1. admin avatar
      admin

      I believe it goes into landfill near the capital, Puerto del Rosario

  4. Morris Piddington avatar
    Morris Piddington

    Where does the recycling go? Is it dealt with on the Island? If so, where and how?
    Or is it shipped out?

    1. JP in Fuerteventura avatar
      JP in Fuerteventura

      This is just my opinion but I suspect it all goes into landfill. There are no recycling plants on the island that I am aware of and probably not in the Canary Islands. There is no way they ship out all of the recycled glass, cardboard and plastic to mainland Spain as that would be prohibitively expensive. I go to the capital quite often and have never seen a bulk carrier in the port that might be transporting waste. With the amount generated there would at least be a daily ship. This article seems to suggest otherwise but frankly I don’t really believe it. I might be wrong of course but my gut feeling is that recycling here is a sham.

  5. Keith Rimmer avatar
    Keith Rimmer

    Hi
    Is there a municipal tip around Caleta

    1. JP in Fuerteventura avatar
      JP in Fuerteventura

      There will be a recycling centre somewhere in the Antigua area. I don’t know where it is though I am afraid as I live in La Oliva. I am sure someone on one of the Caleta Facebook groups will know.

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