Short answer: what the deposit is and who pays it
The construction waste deposit (fiança or dipòsit de residus) guarantees that the rubble from your job ends up with an authorised waste manager rather than on waste ground. It is governed by Catalonia's Decret 89/2010 (the PROGROC programme). According to the Agència de Residus de Catalunya, for licensed works the deposit is paid to an authorised gestor de residus; it used to be paid to the Ajuntament. It is 11 EUR per tonne of waste forecast in the Estudi de Gestió de Residus (waste management study), with a minimum of 150 EUR. In return the waste manager issues a Document d'acceptació (waste acceptance document), which you attach to the licence application.
You can arrange it yourself: signing up with a waste manager and paying the deposit needs no middleman. The waste volume for a licence is estimated by the technician in the project. For minor works filed as a comunicat, Decret 89/2010 leaves the rules to municipal ordinances, so requirements vary by town.
When you need it and when you do not
A llicència d'obres majors in Barcelona, for example a renovation with structural changes or an extra storey. Under the municipal ORPIMO ordinance the project includes an assessment of the volume and type of waste, and in the conditions attached to granted licences the Ajuntament requires a Document d'acceptació signed by an authorised waste manager, showing waste separated by type, the manager's code, the site address and the amount received as a deposit. Here the deposit is mandatory.
A flat renovation in the Eixample under a comunicat immediat. For this regime ORPIMO lets you start the day after filing, once the documents are checked, the provisional ICIO is paid and any guarantees or deposits required by planning or sector law are in place. What exactly you must attach is shown in your procedure's form. Either way the rubble has to go to an authorised waste manager, and it is worth keeping the paperwork.
A house in Castelldefels. Once there is a favourable technical report, the Ajuntament notifies the waste deposit amount, and that money is paid to a waste manager. A separate deposit, the dipòsit de garantia de bona reposició, covers the pavement.
If you remove a small amount of rubble yourself and take it to a Punt Verd de zona, which accepts rubble from private individuals free of charge, no deposit is involved.
What to prepare and who does what
The technician (architect or technical architect) estimates the volume and types of waste in the project. For major works it is part of the project, and comunicats with technical documentation usually include it too. The deposit depends on that tonnage figure.
The owner or the contractor chooses an authorised waste manager. Construction waste management certificates can only be issued by managers holding the relevant authorisation from the Agència de Residus de Catalunya. You pay the deposit to that manager and receive the Document d'acceptació. The Agència publishes a template for this document, so check that it shows the manager's code, the site address and the amount received.
During the works, the contractor delivers the rubble to that manager and keeps a delivery note for every load. At the end those notes are the basis for the management certificate.
You keep the contract with the manager, the deposit receipt and the Document d'acceptació. You will need them to close the works and get the money back.
Step by step
First, find out which regime your works fall under. In Barcelona the Consulta prèvia in the Oficina Virtual tells you: with the cadastral reference and a description of the works it shows the regime and the documents needed.
Second, get the technician's waste estimate in tonnes. Multiply by 11 EUR and compare with 150 EUR: the larger figure is the PROGROC reference for the deposit. The waste manager will give you the exact amount.
Third, sign up with an authorised waste manager, pay the deposit and get the Document d'acceptació.
Fourth, add it to your file. In Barcelona licences list it among their conditions; in Castelldefels you are first notified of the amount and then pay it to the manager.
Fifth, during the works hand the waste only to that manager and keep the delivery notes. Street sacks and skips must also end up with an authorised manager.
Sixth, when the works are finished, get the waste management certificate from the manager and file it with the Ajuntament along with the other closing documents if your procedure requires it.
How to get the deposit back
This is where people usually get confused. Since the deposit for licensed works sits with the waste manager, the Agència de Residus de Catalunya states plainly that holding and returning it is a private matter between the licence holder and the manager. The Ajuntament does not refund it because it never received it. The refund terms are in your contract with the manager, so read them before paying: how long it takes, what document triggers it, and what is deducted if tonnage is short or waste arrives mixed.
The usual logic is that you prove the waste was delivered, the manager issues the certificate and settles the deposit. If there is more waste than forecast, the amount may be recalculated.
In Castelldefels you close the works by filing the certificat final d'obres and the certificat de gestió de residus. Municipal deposits, such as the one for the pavement, are reclaimed separately online or in person; the Ajuntament's technicians check the pavements and, if all is well, refund the money. If there are defects, the Ajuntament sends a notice.
Common mistakes
Looking for the deposit at the Ajuntament. For licensed works it has long been paid to the waste manager, and the manager is who refunds it.
Paying without reading the contract. Without clear refund terms the money gets stuck.
Losing delivery notes. Without them the manager will not certify the full volume, and without the certificate you cannot close the works.
Taking rubble to a different manager from the one holding the deposit. The paperwork will not match.
Confusing the waste deposit with the pavement reinstatement deposit. They are separate amounts with separate refund rules.
Rules and amounts are updated, so check your procedure page and the Agència de Residus website before filing. If you would rather not handle it, BCN YARD manages waste and its paperwork as part of the renovation.