The new cleaning fines are being implemented in Alicante

Yesterday, Monday, March 26th, the new cleaning ordinance went into effect. The plenary session in April unanimously accepted the regulations, which replace the 2017 standards and align with European, national, and regional regulations. To achieve this goal, the regulations impose additional sanctions and increase fines for previously known offences.

The text, for which Ecovidrio, Recycla, and Ecoembes rejected objections, establishes a new sanctioning regime with fines classified into three categories: minor, serious, and very serious. Fines range from €300 to €3,000, and the number of regulated infractions increases from 63 in 2017 to 86 in 2025.

Increase in fines

Some of the sanctions (mainly at the request of Vox during the amendment period) have seen a significant increase, almost doubling:

• Unauthorized burning of waste : from €1,530 in 2017 to €3,000 in 2025 (+96%).
• Urinating and defecating in public will be subject to two different penalties: urinating will result in a fine of up to  900 euros for urinating and up to 1,200 euros for defecating, compared to 300 euros under the previous regulations.
• Failure to keep plots clean or enclose them with a 2-metre fence : from €2,100 in 2017 to €3,000 in 2025 (+43%).
• Incineration or burial of animals in unauthorised locations : a new offence with fines of up to 2,100 euros.
• Depositing pruning and gardening waste in public spaces wiauthorisation is now punishable by a fine of up to 3,000 euros, an increase from the previous fine ofred to 2,100 euros in 2017.

Differences and new features

With regard to sanctions classified as minor , the new ordinance introduces the following changes:

Increase in amounts:

• Littering on public roads (previously up to 210 euros, now up to 300 euros)
• Washing or bathing animals in public spaces (previously not specified, now up to 750 euros)
• Not offering free drinking water in hospitality (new, up to 750 euros)

New sanctions:

• Do not carry an individual ashtray on the beach (up to 450 euros)
• That the pet owner does not carry bags or devices for collecting excrement and containers with liquid (Up to 450 euros)
• Deposit unfolded paper-cardboard or in plastic bags (up to 300 euros)

Sanctions eliminated or modified:

• The penalty for vomiting outside is eliminated.
• Penalties for failure to remove banners after the deadline have been lifted
• In 2017, only “throwing waste on the sand” is mentioned, while in 2025, “bringing glass containers” into bathing areas is specifically prohibited.

Serious sanctions

Regarding violations classified as serious, the new ordinance introduces the following modifications:

Increase in amounts:

• Soiling with liquids, oils or gasoline (previously up to 900 euros, now up to 1,200 euros)
• Failure to keep vacant lots or visible private spaces clean (previously up to 780 euros, now up to 1,500 euros)
• Urinating in public (up to 900 euros) and defecating (up to 1,200 euros) become two separate fines. Previously, both were punishable by minor fines of 300 euros.

New sanctions:

• Failure to ensure the traceability of construction waste (up to 1,500 euros)

Notable modifications:

• The fine for abandoning furniture and belongings has been restructured (now up to 1,500 euros).
• Littering public roads with hazardous packaging maintains a fine of up to 1,200 euros, but with new wording.
• The 2017 regulation on abandonment of furniture and belongings had a fine of up to 780.00 euros, while in 2025 more detailed regulations have been included with penalties reaching up to 1,500.00 euros.

Very serious sanctions

Finally, the violations classified as very serious include the following variations in the new ordinance:

• Increase in amounts

• Burning waste without authorization. In 2017, the fine was up to 1,530 euros, in 2025 it increased to 3,000 euros.

• New sanctions:

• Abandonment of dead domestic animals or their remains (2,100 euros)
• Do not offer products without primary packaging in food stores (up to 2,100 euros)
• Failure to comply with waste separation in the hospitality and healthcare sectors (up to 3,000 euros)
• Failure to ensure the compatibility of waste with municipal treatment facilities (Up to 2,100 euros)

• Modified sanctions:

• Industrial spills now focus on infrastructure damage (up to 3,000 euros)
• The fine for cleaning cement mixers on public roads remains in place (up to 2,100 euros).