Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to create a municipal company for urban cleaning

The City Council promotes the Municipal Urban Hygiene Society (SOMHU) to optimize waste management and street cleaning services.

Generic image of urban cleaning services on a street in the Canary Islands.
IA

Generic image of urban cleaning services on a street in the Canary Islands.

The Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council has presented the proposal to create the Municipal Urban Hygiene Society (SOMHU), a new entity aimed at reinforcing the management of street cleaning and urban waste collection in the city.

The initiative, presented at a press conference, seeks a more agile and efficient management model for cleaning services. According to councilors Francisco Hernández Spínola (Presidency) and Héctor Alemán (Urban Hygiene), the establishment of this local commercial company is based on a technical report concluding it is qualitatively more efficient than the current special administrative body.
The process to analyze the most efficient management formula began in March 2025, with the support of all municipal plenary political groups except Vox. The study, conducted using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), highlights greater operational agility, flexibility in resource adaptation, optimization capacity, technological innovation, and better direction and coordination of the service as key factors.
Héctor Alemán emphasized that the new model will enhance management agility and maintain public control over an essential service. Meanwhile, Francisco Hernández Spínola noted that the current model, in place since 1985, suffers from "significant administrative rigidities" that hinder a swift response to service needs, complicating procedures such as public procurement, staff incorporation, and immediate incident response.
The City Council deems this new organizational structure, described as "more flexible and specialized," necessary to improve key aspects of service provision. Following this public presentation, the project will be discussed with employee representatives and members of the municipal corporation as part of a dialogue process before a final decision is made.