Under certain circumstances, waste may be the cause or consequence of risk situations both for people and for the air, the water, the soil, the fauna, the flora, etc. These risks may sometimes derive in real or potential situations of danger and require immediate solution.

The Agència de Residus de Catalunya has an emergency service to attend such situations.

Access to the Emergency Service of the Agència de Residus de Catalunya is checked through the Centre for the Co-ordination of Emergencies of Catalonia (CECAT), part of the Directorate General for Emergencies and Civil Safety. This centre is in permanent contact with the technician of the Agència de Residus de Catalunya, and with the different parties that may be involved in an emergency: local police, fire brigade, Mossos d'Esquadra police, medical assistance, traffic authorities, etc., co-ordinating the reception and emission of the information and the sequence of actions between these bodies. The action of the CECAT starts with the information received by the authorities that receive the warnings, generally the local or "comarca" (region) authorities. As a result,

In an emergency situation, the facts observed must be reported to the local authorities, either to the Town Council, the Local Police or the fire brigade.

If they are unable to deal with the situation, the mentioned authorities will contact CECAT, which will activate the necessary forces to most suitably deal with the emergency. If the situation was caused by waste, the CECAT contacts the Emergency Service of the Agència de Residus de Catalunya. The agency works along established procedures according to the information supplied and any other it might receive, its means and attributes, informing CECAT of its actions.