Orihuela Town Hall contracts extra beach cleaning services

Image: a throwback to pre-Covid times in February last year, with volunteers cleaning the beaches of Orihuela and not a facemask in sight!

The contract will reinforce the cleaning services already offered by the municipality

Orihuela Town Hall is reported to be on the point of signing a contract in the next few days to reinforce beach cleaning in the area, with a maximum cost of 372,924 euros per year. The council has resorted to an external supplier for beach maintenance, which is currently handled by the street cleaning and garbage collection services in the municipality.

The council has justified this external contract to keep the beaches clean saying that the municipality services aren´t doing a good enough job, due to the lack of replacements for staff who have left over the years. In addition, the municipality has only one tractor to service all of the beaches.

Another reason cited is that the cleaning demand has grown recently because of the new properties that have been built along the Orihuela coast and the increase in commercial and leisure activities in the area.

The new contract will allow the maintenance period for Orihuela’s beaches to be extended from Easter until 12th October and aims to support beach cleaning work carried out by municipal services, including offering a tractor with a driver and beach-cleaning machinery to level and oxygenate the sand. The contract will also include emptying beach bins, cleaning the promenade, removing rubbish left behind by beachgoers and, during the busy season, cleaning the area surrounding the beaches.

The Town Hall’s eagerness to sign the beach cleaning contract gives the impression that the council is expecting coronavirus restrictions to be lifted and beaches to be open to the public by the summer, or maybe even Easter: those living in the area will certainly hope this is the case!

Click for information on the beaches of Orihuela Playa.