Logroño held on Thursday an extraordinary session to present its circular strategy, which the municipal government team defined as «a working philosophy» that «transversely affects all areas of consistency with the goal, in the words of Mayor Conrado Escobar, of achieving the «city we want.»
As part of the plan’s presentation, councilor for circular city, Ángel Andrés, explained that it is «an urban model of respectful relationship» that involves «recycling time for greater sustainability and achieving maximum local self-sufficiency.»
This strategy, according to the councilor, is based on six pillars: resource use minimization, water management, urban space sustainability, promotion of healthy spaces and behaviors, transversal policies, and energy consumption efficiency.
Andrés cited programs like Logroño Second Life, recycling gardening materials, using the first filtration of the treatment plant for irrigation, and creating new urban spaces with maintenance and sustainability in balance, such as parks and roads, as examples of each pillar.
He also highlighted the use of LED photovoltaic lighting, smart irrigation control, planting 3-30-300 trees per citizen, ensuring 30% of green spaces and having a park within 300 meters, as well as the use of new technologies to minimize costs and improve efficiency.
«The circular strategy must permeate all public services, be transversal to all councils, impact everything to transform the economy with maximum resource efficiency and utmost environmental and health respect to enhance the health of our citizens and our urban environment,» he concluded.
Regarding the municipal groups, PR+ spokesperson Rubén Antoñanza praised the initiative as «commendable,» although he mentioned a lack of concrete measures and an abundance of literature. He suggested that appropriate budgetary elements should be included, possibly sourced from European funds.
UP-IU spokesperson Amaia Castro noted that the document presented in the session was the first of its kind in two years, expressing disappointment in the lack of specifics. She emphasized the need for real actions with clear costs and timelines, stating that the current presentation seemed like mere paperwork.
Vox spokesperson María Jiménez questioned the viability and execution guarantees of the strategy, criticizing the lack of specificity, budget, terms, and goal monitoring. She labeled it as another «progress» experiment that could harm citizen sovereignty without delivering tangible benefits.
Socialist group spokesperson Luis Alonso expressed skepticism about the strategy, noting the two-year delay in its presentation and the lack of recognition as a genuine strategy. He echoed the need for more detailed information and criticized the absence of temporal horizons, economic figures, objective monitoring, or aspirations for national or international recognition.
From the PP side, environmental councilor Jesús López appreciated the government team’s commitment to the circular city philosophy. He highlighted initiatives such as the progressive replacement of cement fiber networks, water cycle digitalization with EU funding, photovoltaic panels for electric vehicle charging, Logroño Second Life project, waste collection, sustainable parks, and ecological areas, among others.
Finally, Mayor Conrado Escobar addressed students and teachers involved in the sustainability education program present at the plenary session following the extraordinary meeting. He emphasized the importance of the circular city concept, which goes beyond creating a green ring physically embracing Logroño, aiming to maximize the use of all resources in an ecosystem approach.
He described it as the most ambitious urban construction, positioning Logroño at the forefront of sustainability by incorporating the idea of a climate city, energy self-sufficiency, and enhanced health. He quantified the strategy’s impact, including savings of 300,000 cubic meters in water consumption, an additional million square meters of green space, 27 kilometers expanding to 55 kilometers of water access with neighboring areas, and almost 2 million in savings from LED lighting conversion.
«Moreover, the importance lies in how things are done, hand in hand with the people, with a plan that is acronym-free and initiated by a group of municipal personnel and technicians who recognize Logroño’s ideal conditions for this strategy.
