Alicante becomes the second Spanish capital with the highest growth in glass recycling

Alicante has broken its record in 2024 with tonnes of glass collected, becoming the second provincial capital with the highest growth in Spain for selective collection of these containers. The figures from Ecovidrio from the past year reveal that the city collected 6,726 tonnes, marking a 6% increase compared to the previous year, in a context where a general decline in consumption of around 3% is estimated.

This was presented on Wednesday by the Councillor for Street Cleaning and Waste Management of Alicante City Council, Manuel Villar, and the Deputy Director of Managements for the Eastern Zone of Ecovidrio, Roberto Fuentes, the only specialised manager conducting selective collection on the ground. This organisation has highlighted Alicante's figures as a "national reference".

Manuel Villar explained that, "during 2024, thanks to glass recycling in Alicante, 3,900 tonnes of CO2 emissions were avoided, an amount equivalent to removing about 2,000 cars from circulation for a year, saving 4,800 MWh of energy and avoiding the extraction of more than 8,000 tonnes of raw materials, which is almost seven times the weight of the Christ the Redeemer in Brazil." In this regard, it is worth remembering that glass is a 100% recyclable material infinitely, with a recycling quality that makes the separate collection system for glass containers the most effective, efficient, and environmentally sustainable model.

Specifically, in 2024, each citizen of Alicante deposited 18.7 kg of glass containers, equivalent to about 64 containers per person, in the 1,547 green containers installed in the city. This figure is in line with the national average (19.1 kg/person or 65 containers per person). Based on these figures, Alicante residents deposited more than 63,000 glass containers in the green containers daily and more than 40 containers per minute.

By provinces, Alicante recorded a growth of 4.1% and leads the citizen contribution to the selective collection of glass containers in the Valencian Community with 23.3 kg/person, followed by Valencia (14.2 kg/person) and Castellón (12.9 kg/person).