Three 'dirtiest' cities in Spain revealed in street cleaning consumer survey

SPAIN’S dirtiest cities have been named in an OCU consumer group survey that quizzed 6,863 residents in 69 locations.

Mallorca’s Palma, Alicante, and Sevilla got the lowest rankings, while Oviedo, Bilbao, and Vigo received the highest marks.

Alicante remained second-bottom as in the previous 2019 survey when Jaen was ranked the worst.

In general, coastal and southern cities got the worst feedback in the 2023 study with the OCU saying there were ‘mediocre results in two out of three localities’.

In the negative list, San Sebastian, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Barcelona, and Madrid follow the bottom three.

Scores out of 100 were given by people questioned with Barcelona dropping 11 points since the last survey in 2019, with a 10 point drop for Sevilla, and seven points for Las Palmas.

The biggest positive rise was for Guadalajara with 25 points followed by Lugo with 18 points and Avila with 16.

An OCU statement said the figures largely repeat the findings of four years ago ‘which confirms the lack of progress in most large municipalities’.

Issues of concern were dog dirt on pavements, rubbish outside containers, and excess graffiti.

“The number of fines for not picking up dog excrement is anecdotal and in most cities it is considered a minor infraction,” the OCU commented.

“It is vital that city councils pay attention to the complaints of their citizens, which does not always happen,” stresses the organisation.

The OCU added that spending money is not necessarily the answer as two of the cleanest places- Albacete and Pamplona- spend just €46 per year per resident for street cleaning, while that figure rises to over €80 in Barcelona, Madrid, and Sevilla.

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