In the Algarve region, the municipality of Portimão is one of the ones that recycles the most, however it is urgent to reduce the volume of garbage deposited in landfills, which translates into a waste of resources and has consequences not only for public health, but also environmental and financial ones.
It is with this objective in mind that the Municipal Water and Waste Company of Portimão – EMARP, SA., responsible only for the collection of undifferentiated waste, started, in March of this year, to collect a new flow called organic (food scraps) , and has been promoting efforts in the area of education and environmental awareness.
We must invest in Waste Reduction, Reuse, Valorization and Recycling, which make it possible to increase the life cycle of materials, giving rise to new products, without resorting to virgin raw materials, saving water and energy, and only lastly if it proceeds to its disposal (landfilling).
In the Algarve, the municipality of Portimão is a pioneer in the Selective Collection of Organic Waste from homes
It was based on the principles of the Circular Economy and on the urgent need to divert food scraps, which occupy about 37% of our undifferentiated garbage bucket, from landfills, that EMARP, within the scope of an application approved by PO SEUR (Program Operational Sustainability and Efficiency in the Use of Resources), implemented the pilot project of Selective Collection of Organic Waste.
The project, which covers 13.836 accommodation units, 35% of the population, started with 80 establishments of the HORECA channel, 5 institutions (IPSS) and 11 schools, through Selective Collection of PaP (door-to-door), and has now extended to the entire residential population of the pilot area.
For the disposal of organic waste (food scraps) in residential areas, the installation of 144 containers is being completed, next to the already existing network of recycling bins. Citizens who wish to do so can pick up a 7 L bucket, free of charge, available at EMARP and at the Parish Councils of Portimão and Alvor.
In the last 20 years, the municipality of Portimão sent 605.551 tons of unsorted waste to the landfill, an annual average of 30.300 tons, and selectively separated 67.652 tons of paper and cardboard, packaging and glass for recycling.
As part of the implementation of the project, different dissemination and awareness-raising initiatives have already taken place. The company shared with the children of “Summer 2022” the importance of separation and was present at the events “Lota Cool Market”, and “Festival da Sardinha”, where it presented Marafada, the organic mascot, and delivered buckets of 7 L, sharing the site organicos.emarp.pt, where all users can check if they are part of the pilot area and get to know the entire process in detail.
From March, when the collection of the organic waste stream began, until July, 225 tons of food scraps were collected and delivered to the ALGAR Organic Recovery Center, the company responsible for managing and transforming this material into 100% natural fertilizer. , which will serve for agriculture and gardening.
The objectives of the pilot project are to create conditions that allow the Municipality to comply with the obligation to selectively collect organic waste from January 1, 2024, the date on which selective collection or its separation and recycling at source becomes mandatory. for all Portuguese municipalities.
In addition to the collection of organic and undifferentiated waste, deposited by the inhabitants in the available container, EMARP also provides the free collection service of bulky waste, called “monsters”, of greens (garden cuts) and of construction and demolition waste. , provided that they are produced in small DIY or repair works, when they are carried out by the owner or tenant of the dwelling.
It should be noted that since May of this year, and in order to divert recyclables from recycling bins at their origin, a protocol was signed between ALGAR and EMARP, which took over the door-to-door collection of recyclables, exclusively in commerce and services in Praia da Rock and Alvor.
Portimão is one of the municipalities that recycles the most in the Algarve
According to data from ALGAR, referring to 2020, in the Algarve context, which includes 16 municipalities, Portimão is one of the two municipalities that recycles the most.
In the last decade Portimão registered a positive trend with regard to the collection of recyclable waste (paper and cardboard, packaging and glass), with an annual average of 6.376 tons. In 2022, from January to July, citizens have already separated 3.900 tons of material that has been converted into resources that allow them to postpone the extraction of minerals and oil, save water and avoid the use of more trees.
This is the main advantage of sending waste for recycling: Saving natural resources by introducing secondary raw materials into the production cycle.
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