Ames definitively approves the waste tax and the 15% bonus

The Ames City Council has definitively approved Fiscal Ordinance 3.A.1 regulating the fee for the waste collection, transport, and treatment service, published in the Official Gazette of the Province of A Coruña number 178, dated September 17, 2026, with official reference 2026/5988. The agreement was adopted in the Plenary session on September 10, 2026, after dismissing the allegation regarding the ex officio bonus and accepting the one relating to the accreditation of deliveries at the Clean Point (Punto Limpo). The regulation comes into force on the day of its publication and begins to be applied from January 1, 2026.

Processing and allegations

The modification was initially approved in the plenary session on June 25, 2026, within file GD 11187/2026. During the public exhibition period, a single allegation was presented, RE 20855/2026, registered on August 6, 2026.

The Plenary of September 10 agreed:

• To dismiss the allegation regarding the recognition of the ex officio bonus, maintaining its requested nature and requiring a prior application from the interested party.
• To accept the allegation regarding the accreditation of the requirement for deliveries at the Clean Point, such that the City Council will be responsible for verifying compliance by gathering data or reports from the managing entity.
• To definitively approve the modification with the new wording of article 8.2.
• To notify the agreement to the appellant and publish the full text in the provincial gazette, on the municipal notice board, and on the electronic office.

The ordinance repeals the previous Fiscal Ordinance 3.A.1 regulating the fee for activities and services related to urban hygiene, approved in BOP number 248 on December 31, 2012. The announcement is signed by the mayor, José Blas García Piñeiro, in Ames on September 14, 2026.

Bonuses and quotas

Article 8.2 establishes a 15% bonus on the variable quota for users who deliver waste to the municipal clean point, bulky items (furniture), or domestic pruning remains at the locations established by the Department of Environment. It is required to be registered (empadronado) at the property for which the fee is settled and to prove, prior to the application, a minimum of two deliveries.

The planned bonuses are:

• 15% on the variable quota for participating in domestic composting programs (article 8.1).
• 15% on the variable quota for deliveries at the clean point (article 8.2).
• 15% on the variable rate for food distribution and catering companies with agreements with non-profit social economy entities (article 8.3).

The first two are compatible with each other. Applications submitted before the end of February apply to the receipt of the same year; those submitted from March 1 onwards apply to the following fiscal year.

For dwellings, the fixed fee is 67.77 euros in continuous frequency zones and 40.66 euros in alternating frequency zones, with a variable fee of 21.36 euros per registered inhabitant. For activities, the fixed fee is 272.91 euros annually and the variable fee results from multiplying the square meters by the heading coefficient: 1.53 euros for health centers, educational centers, and residences; 1.23 for restaurants and bars; 1.06 for food trade; 0.45 for accommodations; 0.43 for banking entities and official centers; 0.12 for tourist dwellings; 0.02 for non-food industry and 0.01 for non-food retail trade. A 50% fee reduction is also established for dwellings with people in situations of risk or social exclusion, following a report from social services.

Deadlines and transitional regime

The tax accrues on January 1 and the tax period coincides with the calendar year. The Special Payment System (S.E.P.) allows receipts to be split into three installments —June 5, July 5, and August 5, or September 5, October 5, and November 5—, with a request submitted before the last business day of February.

For 2026, the transitional provision establishes that the basic fee is settled and collected within the fiscal year, that the S.E.P. does not apply to this year’s receipts, and that the variable fee is deferred to a later date to be set by the fiscal calendar, without altering the accrual of January 1, 2026.

Impact

The new ordinance affects all neighborhood receipts in Ames and introduces a variable fee per inhabitant and per surface area, in addition to three 15% bonuses that will only be applied if the taxpayer requests them. The decision to keep the bonus as requested and for the Council to assume the verification of deliveries at the clean point marks the practical scope of the text for the coming years.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of A Coruña, number 178, September 17, 2026, Local Administration, Ames Council (official reference: 2026/5988).