What CleanSpot does that IRIS does not
IRIS is a channel between you and Barcelona city council: you send the report and the case stays between you and the services. CleanSpot is something else. Every report is a pin on a public map from the first second; neighbours see it, confirm it, add photos and can volunteer to deal with it.
That changes what happens when the service is slow. In a municipal channel the alternative to silence is chasing. In a network, the alternative is somebody acting: a dumped bag does not have to wait for a crew if three neighbours decide to sort it out on Saturday.
And CleanSpot does not stop at the city limits. The municipality is resolved automatically from the pin’s coordinates: report in Barcelona and anywhere else with the same app.
The council’s channel: IRIS
In Barcelona, incidents, complaints and suggestions go through IRIS, the council system that logs them and routes them to the responsible service. Each one gets an IRIS code for tracking its status. You can file on the council website, by phone (010 or the free civic line 900 226 226) and at citizen-service offices.
The volume is huge: the council counted 350,573 submissions in 2023 from about 150,000 people, with an average closure of about seven days.
- Phone: 010
- Civic line: 900 226 226 (free)
- Web: barcelona.cat
A report that gets resolved, on any channel
What moves a report forward is nearly always the same: someone has to be able to find the spot and understand what is there without calling you.
- Exact location: coordinates or a pin on a map, not just the street name
- One photo close up and one from further back, so size and access are clear
- What it is: bags, rubble, furniture, a pothole, a dead street light
- How long it has been there, and whether it is the first time
- If there is a hazard (glass, asbestos, a hole on a crossing), say so first
What CleanSpot has that a municipal channel does not
- A public map of everything reported, with date, photo and coordinates
- Cleanups: anyone can join, alone or as a group event with invitations and a shared recap
- Groups, comments, messages and mentions, because keeping a street clean is neighbours’ work
- Vision AI that suggests severity and tags from the photo
- Duplicate detection: if a pin already exists a few metres away, your photo joins that record
- Per-location history, the argument for another bin or more frequent collection
- Works with no signal: the report is saved and sent when the connection returns
- 30 languages, free and with no advertising
Sources
Does IRIS work outside Barcelona?
No. It is Barcelona city council’s channel for its own municipality. CleanSpot works in any municipality and resolves it from the coordinates.
Should I use the council’s channel or CleanSpot?
Both. CleanSpot for the public record, your neighbours and the location’s history, which is what gives a complaint weight; the council’s channel so the services get the report through their own workflow. One more minute covers both fronts.
Does CleanSpot send my report to Barcelona city council?
CleanSpot has a municipal dashboard with a territory inbox, assignment to crews or contractors and tracking to closure. When a council subscribes, reports in its area land there directly. Until then the report is public and anyone, the services included, can see it on the map.
How much does it cost?
Nothing. CleanSpot is free for citizens, with no advertising, on iPhone and Android.