Las Palmas approves the urban hygiene ordinance and its sanctioning regime

The Plenary Session of the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria definitively approved on September 25, 2026, the Urban Hygiene Ordinance regarding the cleaning of public spaces and the management of waste under municipal jurisdiction, after resolving the submitted allegations. The full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Las Palmas number 119, dated October 5, 2026, section I, pages 17063 to 17103, with the official reference 2.017.823. The agreement was communicated to the State Administration and the Autonomous Community on October 1, 2026, as a prior step to its entry into force.

The regulation develops the municipal competence in street cleaning and in the collection and treatment of waste attributed by article 25.2.b) of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, and adapts the local regulations to Law 7/2022, of April 8, on waste and contaminated soils for a circular economy, as well as to the Comprehensive Waste Plan of the Canary Islands 2021-2027, approved by Decree 160/2021, of December 30. The text is structured into four titles, two additional provisions, two transitional provisions, one repealing provision, and one final provision: the first title, consisting of ten articles, contains the general provisions; the second, of eighteen, regulates the cleaning of public spaces; the third, of thirty-nine, the management of waste under municipal jurisdiction; and the fourth, inspection and the sanctioning regime.

Civic duties and new obligations for residents and businesses

The ordinance defines urban hygiene as the set of means and actions intended to evaluate, control, prevent, and improve the general state of the city and each of its neighborhoods. General duties include preventing the generation of waste, depositing it in a segregated manner, compacting it to optimize the capacity of the containers, closing the lids after deposit, and complying with the delivery schedules set by the City Council.

The text prohibits, among other behaviors, shaking textiles from balconies, accumulating household goods, abandoning waste in public spaces, vacant lots, and ravines, throwing cigarette butts or peels outside of bins, feeding animals, setting up shacks, washing vehicles, pouring liquids into storm drains, graffitiing, and tampering with containers. Owners of commercial and service establishments must keep the urban space under their influence clean and may be required to install approved containers.

Separation at the source will be required, at least, in the following fractions:

• Lightweight packaging, paper and cardboard, and glass packaging.
• Food and kitchen waste, and used cooking oils.
• Woody pruning and gardening remains, and bulky waste.
• Construction and demolition waste, clothing and textiles, electrical and electronic equipment, piles and batteries.
• Other segregated hazardous waste and residual fraction.

Large producers shall be considered those who generate more than 480 liters per day of lightweight packaging or residual fraction, 800 liters per day of paper and cardboard, or 240 liters per day of bio-waste; the singular producer of paper-cardboard is set at more than 3,000 liters per day. Accommodation establishments and collective commercial establishments must submit a Waste Prevention and Management Plan within one year, and the use of single-use plastics is prohibited at events held in public spaces.

Sanctioning regime: fines of up to 3.5 million euros

Infractions are classified as minor, serious, and very serious, with statutes of limitations of one, three, and five years respectively. The sanctions table is as follows:

• Cleaning of public spaces: up to 750 euros (minor), up to 1,500 euros (serious), and up to 3,000 euros (very serious).
• Waste management, minor infractions: up to 2,000 euros in cases of non-compliance with schedules and disposal in unauthorized locations, and up to 750 euros for others.
• Waste management, serious infractions: from 2,001 to 100,000 euros, and from 20,001 to 600,000 euros if it involves hazardous domestic waste.
• Waste management, very serious infractions: from 100,001 to 3,500,000 euros, and from 600,001 to 3,500,000 euros in the case of hazardous waste.

The City Council may substitute fines with community service, attendance at training courses, or alternative awareness measures, and may publish the names of those responsible for serious and very serious infractions in the official gazette once they are final. The sanctioning power is exercised in accordance with Article 111 of Law 7/2022, and its procedure is regulated in Article 112 of the same regulation.

Deadlines, financing, and entry into force

Obligations relating to the collection of commercial waste and the management of non-specific healthcare waste (Group II of Decree 104/2002, of July 26) will only be enforceable one year after entry into force. The financing of the service will be structured through fees and non-tax heritage benefits in the corresponding tax ordinance, under the “polluter pays” principle, and the City Council may establish grants, fee reductions, and incentives for domestic and community composting.

The ordinance shall enter into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette of the Province, which occurs with this announcement signed in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on October 1, 2026, by the General Secretary of the Plenary, María Mercedes Contreras Fernández.

The new regulation replaces the previous framework and affects the entire city: residents, homeowners’ associations, businesses, the hospitality sector, event promoters, and terrace holders now have specific obligations regarding cleaning and waste separation, with a sanctioning regime that increases fines for the most serious dumping up to 3.5 million euros.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Las Palmas, number 119, of October 5, 2026, section I, pages 17063-17103 (official reference: 2.017.823).