The Mancomunidad lowers the rate for invasive seaweed to 28.13 euros

The Plenary of the Regional Board of the Commonwealth of Municipalities of the Campo de Gibraltar, in an extraordinary session held on 28 July 2026, agreed to initially approve the reduction of the public price tariff for the direct disposal in landfill of the invasive alga Rugulopterix Okamurae and other non-compostable species from beaches, which is set for the 2026 financial year at €28.13 per tonne (VAT not included), replacing the current €45.00/t. The measure is published in the Official Bulletin of the Province of Cádiz number 155, of 13 August 2026, through notice No. 255,720.

The reduction is being processed as a modification of the ordinance on the public price for the voluntary provision of the joint waste treatment and disposal service. The file stems from the Agreement of 29 April 2026 of the Governing Council of the Junta de Andalucía, which declared the situation caused by the massive arrival of beach-cast algae on the Andalusian coasts to be force majeure and of extreme necessity (BOJA No. 84, of 5 May 2026). That declaration activated, as from the day of its publication, the exemption provided for in Article 89.1(a) of Law 7/2022, of 8 April, on waste and contaminated soils for a circular economy, which allows the impact of the tax on waste disposal in landfills to be deducted from the tariff.

A tariff calculated on the 2023 basis

The new amount is based on the technical-economic study prepared by ARCGISA on 18 June 2026. According to that report, after deducting the tax component and applying it to the pre-tax 2023 base tariff of €25.02/t (VAT not included), the same approved and published update path yields an amount of €28.13/t for 2026, while maintaining coverage of the cost of the service. The update is calculated using the following coefficients:

• 1.0646 (2023 base coefficient)
• Ka 2024 = 1.0242
• Ka 2025 = 1.0091
• Ka 2026 = 1.0218

The remaining items, tariffs and regulation of the public price remain unchanged.

Retroactive effects and regularisation of assessments

The modification includes a single transitional provision that applies the new tariff to deposits made since 5 May 2026 and orders the regularisation of assessments already made. The agreement entrusts the operational application of the new tariff and such regularisation to ARCGISA, and provides for the forwarding of the agreement to:

• the town councils of the associated municipalities;
• the concessionaire entity of the Southern Europe Environmental Complex.

Public information and entry into force

The file is submitted to public information and a hearing for interested parties for a period of thirty business days from the publication of the notice, both in the provincial bulletin and on the notice board of the electronic office and the Transparency Portal of the Commonwealth. If no claims or suggestions are submitted, the agreement, until then initial, will be deemed definitively adopted and its full text will be published in the BOP for its entry into force. The notice, dated 29 July 2026, is signed by the president, Susana R. Pérez Custodio.

The reduction provides relief for the coastal municipalities of Campo de Gibraltar, which bear the management of seaweed strandings on their beaches, and returns to users the amount of the landfill tax that the force majeure declaration left without effect. Those who have paid the rate of €45.00/t since last 5 May will be able to see their settlements regularized to the new amount.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Province of Cádiz, No. 155, of 13 August 2026, Local Administration section, p. 2 (official reference: No. 255.720).