The rubbish collection fee in Orihuela went up from 70 euros a year to 202 euros last year. It will stay the same in 2026, even though the Orihuela City Council said that the tax was a living ordinance that could be changed every year. They hoped to be able to lower it this year.
Not surprisingly, this option was based on the fact that the service would cost half as much with a waste treatment plant in Vega Baja. However, the new facility is still being built and is proposed to be located in Torremendo, which both the residents and the City Council have rejected. As a result, the costs of collecting, transporting, and treating the trash are still about 250 euros per tonne.
The charge change, which meant two bills of €101.44 every six months, was required by law in all municipalities to make sure the service didn’t lose money. They were collecting about €6.5 million in Orihuela, while the costs were over €15 million. That means they are 40% more, and this is what needed to be balanced.
Critics are also upset that a flat rate was set, and this will stay the same even though the council approved a motion in May from the Cambiemos party, with the support of the PSOE and Cs parties, that changed the ordinance to include factors like income, size and use of the dwelling, and volume of waste. This change was not made, and it will not be made. The PP, which runs the Solid Waste Department, voted against it for a reason.
The two-party alliance has not changed its mind on the bill after the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community made a recent decision. The court said that this tax can’t be used unless each person is charged what they owe, following the state law that says “whoever pollutes, pays.” This means that the municipal rules need to be changed as much as possible so that each person pays for the collection, treatment, disposal, and recovery of their own waste.
So, after the People’s Party (PP) in Callosa de Segura appealed, the ruling cancelled the ordinance in that town. It said that it was wrong to apply the same rate to all homes without taking into account things like individual cadastral values, the number of registered residents, the specific activity at each address, and so on. Like in the Orihuela case, the municipality first wanted to create three groups of homes: one in the town centre, one on the coast, and one in the outlying districts. They used the average cadastral value per square metre as a way to tell them apart, and they also used the number of residents per home as a way to weigh the groups. In the end, though, they chose a flat rate.
Resourses
The lawyer and former councillor Juan Ignacio López-Bas is also appealing the Orihuela tax hike, just like the Callosa one. He has also argued that there is no local body to handle economic-administrative claims, which is how to appeal municipal taxes. This is required for municipalities with large populations, so the court will have to decide on both issues.
People have to go to court with a lawyer because of this, which costs a lot of money. In fact, in 2025, some 1,000 people, mostly from the seaside area and other districts, filed administrative claims with the City Council to challenge their bills. The City Council then sent these claims to SUMA to be processed as appeals for reconsideration. It seems strange that the same entity that issued the bill is also in charge of resolving the appeal. Because of this, the appeals were turned down, and the only choice left was to take the case to the administrative courts.
So, Orihuela will still have one of the most costly rates in the province. For example, the rate is €146.24 for the town center and €131.45 for outlying areas and villages in Almoradí; €157.05 and €86.56 in Benejúzar; €155.76 and €142.08 in Albatera; €135.40 and €128.81 in Cox; €145.78 and €130.84 in Benferri; and €80.42 and €131.88 in Torrevieja (in residential areas, it ranges from €111.86 to €131.86).
Service
Despite the approval of the Local Waste Plan, which calls for an investment of 20 million over six years to hire more staff and buy more materials in line with current needs, and the change in management of the service through the municipal company Environmental Management Service (SGM), whose manager is Dámaso Aparicio, advisor and former councillor of the PP, which was supposed to start in the last quarter of 2025 but hasn’t yet, citizens still don’t see an improvement in the service.
Extra Money
Vox abstained from voting on the tax increase, while Cambiemos and Ciudadanos voted against it. PP and PSOE voted in favour after both parties reached a last-minute agreement, just before the plenary session, to add economic bonuses for vulnerable groups of up to 70%. This caused more problems between PP and Vox.
The City Council has told citizens that these subsidies are not automatic and that they must apply for the 20%, 50%, and 70% tax breaks by the 31st, depending on how much money they make and how their family is doing. The biggest reduction is meant for people who are in the most difficult situations, such those who get the Valencian Inclusion Income, the Minimum Living Income, non-contributory pensions, or other social benefits.
The City Council thinks that thousands of families in Orihuela can benefit from these cuts. This includes single-parent and large families, as well as people who are dependent or disabled, households that get social benefits, or victims of gender violence. However, there is no data yet on how many people will benefit in 2025.
You can process applications at the SUMA offices at Calle Mancebería, number 13. They have information about how to do this.
