Marbella fines for incorrect recycling

Marbella’s Local Police have escalated checks on residents using the recycling and waste bins correctly.

So far this year, incorrect use of bins and recycling containers has tripled compared to last year, according to Marbella Town Hall, and councillor for citizen safety and security, José Eduardo Díaz, is concerned this could damage Marbella’s image as a top-level tourist destination. For this reason, he has asked police to intensify their efforts to persuade people to use the correct waste disposal methods and to do so in the timetables established in law.

Marbella wants to maintain image of city

The councillor is also reaching out to residents to help maintain the good image of the city. Fines potentially imposed by local police officers for not using the correct bins can vary from €90 to €3,000, depending on the severity of the situation. There is a free-of-charge old furniture and household items collection and all residents need to do is call 952 768 720 for further instructions. Glass must be left inside the containers provided for this purpose from 8am. to 10pm., while cardboard and paper must always be folded and put inside the container.

Eternal confusion about what goes in the yellow bins

So, what goes in the yellow bins? Plastic food containers and metal tins, empty aerosols, drinks cans, tin foil, polystyrene trays, toothpaste tubes and cartons. No, the latter doesn’t go in paper recycling. Also in this bin, those wooden fruit boxes. No to plastic toys, dummies and baby bottles, because they are not recyclable.

No wooden furniture in the paper bins

Paper and cardboard only in the grey/blue recycling bins, please, and not bed frames, as this writer once found. One can only imagine what was going through the person’s mind when wondering how to recycle a wooden bed frame: ‘Paper comes from trees, and wood comes from trees, so …’