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Date Published: 16/07/2025

Protesters dump rubbish bags in Alicante square to highlight 'dirty city' problem

Residents accuse the council of years of poor street cleaning and demand urgent action to tackle worsening hygiene

A group of protestors gathered in Alicante’s City Hall Square on Monday July 14, piling up black bags of rubbish in a striking show of frustration over the city’s unclean streets.

The demonstration was organised by the Alicante Clean Coordinator (CAL), whose members say they’re fed up with what they describe as a "critical" situation regarding cleanliness. Symbolic bags filled with plastic containers were placed in the square to highlight what they claim is years of mounting rubbish, poor hygiene and public dissatisfaction.

"This protest is because of the state of filth that we’ve been seeing for seven years," said CAL secretary and spokesperson, Paloma Valverde. "Ever since the government team headed by Mayor Luis Barcala, things have only got worse. The public is very tired. We’ve received so many messages saying something needs to be done."

The group’s demonstration followed similar complaints across the Vega Baja area last year, where overflowing bins, pests and rising collection charges led to widespread anger from residents. More recently, concerns have also been raised about poor recycling performance in spite of increased fees .

In response to Monday’s protest, Alicante’s Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Cleaning, Manuel Villar, suggested some participants might "leave with emptier pockets;" a remark interpreted as a threat of fines. But Valverde rejected the warning, saying, " if the City Council decides to issue fines, it will have to specify the articles under which they are charged, and they won't find them."

She called the suggestion of financial penalties against a peaceful demonstration "highly undemocratic" and emphasised that CAL had formally notified the authorities ahead of the event. "This was a peaceful protest, and there were no incidents," she added. "It was a lesson in civic responsibility for an uncivilized city council."

Image: wikicommons

Also read about Málaga's own unique protest against litter problems here.

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