The brief
With a growing transient population in addition to almost 130,000 inhabitants and a historic quarter with a large number of nightlife venues, the city of León required a waste solution that did not rely on waste collection vehicles having to navigate old, narrow and winding streets, both from a safety and historical preservation perspective. It should also be integrated with a historical city without compromising its traditional charm and enable the collection of a large volume of waste without disrupting the atmosphere of this popular tourist destination.
2 waste fractions
Rest / Packaging
2,2 tons waste/day
315 waste inlets
75 Barrio Húmedo
240 La Lastra
3,2 km pipe network
with the dimension of 500 mm
44,000 sq.mts.
GFA
León is a place that is close to the hearts and minds of not just its inhabitants, but also those who take the time to visit it every year. As a result, preserving the site and retaining the features that makes León so special was extremely important to us.
The project
Replacing multiple daily waste collections made by a fleet of waste collection vehicles, the City of León’s Envac system quickly transports waste under the streets from the 315 inlets to the system’s waste collection station, located on the outskirts of the city, in a new neighbourhood known as La Lastra.
This means that waste collection vehicles no longer even need to enter Barrio Húmedo, the historical centre. The Envac system has reduced the pressure on the beautiful, but ill-equipped urban infrastructure dating back eight centuries.
In line with Envac’s commitment to ongoing development and as part of the City of León’s drive to ensure that the system is fully utilised, the municipality continually adapts the inlets to better meet user demand. Not only does this increase user engagement but it also improves the overall efficiency of the system.
The result
Envac’s installation in León has:
- Provided a contemporary solution that blends seamlessly with a historical site and does not compromise the aesthetical values that continue to draw hundreds of thousands of people to the city each year.
- Removed the dangers associated with the movement of heavy, industrial vehicles on winding – and sometimes icy – roads in the historic city centre.
- Made León’s streetscape cleaner, tidier and more hygienic by replacing traditional bins, which often become overfull, with Envac’s waste inlets, which never become overfull.
Traditional waste collection in and around streets not capable of taking the pressures of industrial vehicles was damaging León’s infrastructure, posing a risk to residents and making the process of waste collection much more difficult for our waste collection teams.
Envac has provided a solution that ticks all the boxes by enabling us to have a 21st century waste collection solution in a 13th century urban infrastructure. Not only have we futureproofed our waste management strategy but we’ve also futureproofed the streets of León in the process.