An index to quantify street cleanliness: The case of Granada (Spain)

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) Vol. 33; no. 5; pp. 1037 - 1046
• Main Authors: Sevilla, Aitana, Rodríguez, Miguel Luis, García-Maraver, Ángela, Zamorano, Montserrat
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Atmospheric pollution; Cities; Cleaning Index; Exact sciences and technology; Garbage; Other wastes and particular components of wastes; Pollution; Public Opinion; Quality Control; Spain; Street cleanliness; Sweeping; Waste Management - economics; Waste Management - methods; Waste Management - standards; Waste Management - statistics & numerical data; Wastes; Europe; Spain; Cleaning Index; Street cleanliness; Sweeping; Surveillance; Cleanness; Quality control; Air pollution; Street; Cleaning; Urban area
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2013.01.012

► We have applied and index to determine the cleanliness level in Granada (Spain). ► We have compare results of Cleanliness Index with citizen’s opinion. ► The index could be an useful tool to measure the level of cleanliness of the streets of a city. ► The Cleanliness Index could be used to evaluate the organization of cleaning service in a city. Urban surfaces receive waste deposits from natural and human sources, which create a negative visual impact and are identified as potentially significant contributors to water and air pollution. Local councils are usually responsible for the sweep of roads and footpaths to keep the environment clean and free of litter. Quality controls are useful in order to check whether the services are being executed according to the quantity, quality and performance standards that are provided. In this sense, several factors might affect the efficiency of the management of cleaning and waste collection services; however, only a few contributions are available in the literature on the various aspects associated with the level of street cleanliness. In this paper, the suitability of a Cleanliness Index has been checked, for the case of Granada (South of Spain), in order to contribute to the proper management of public expenditure, improving the quality and cost of an essential service for any municipality. Results have concluded that the city exhibits a good level of cleanliness, although the standard of cleaning varied from one area of the city to another. The Cleaning Index fits well to the general situation of the different districts of Granada and thus, it could be considered a useful tool for measuring the level of cleanliness of the streets of the city and for evaluating the organization of the cleaning service, such that an outsourced company would not be responsible for controlling all the cleaning services.