The Ria Park Hotel & Spa, in Vale do Garrão, municipality of Loulé, hosted the IV National Meeting on Urban Cleaning, an initiative of the Urban Cleaning Association (ALU), Partnership for Smarter and Sustainable Cities.
Around 350 participants, including public entities such as municipalities, municipal companies, the business sector linked to the sector or academics, met in the municipality of Loulé to discuss this important matter in the global context marked by climate change.
The approximately 40 national and international speakers, from countries such as Finland, England, Sweden or the United States of America, brought themes to this forum under the motto “Roadmap for Competitive and Attractive Cities”.
The objective was “to demonstrate the importance of the state of urban cleaning as an asset of cities, due to the impact on the ability to attract business and other activities, to attract tourism, to keep permanent and happy inhabitants”, says the municipality in a note.
During the meeting, topics such as funding opportunities for national legislation for urban cleaning and waste, novelties arising from the Single-Use Plastics directive, strategies to end abandoned waste and good practices for raising awareness and mobilizing the population were highlighted. .
On the other hand, practical cases of success were presented around approaches to the Smart Cities model, such as the cities of Stockholm, Barcelona or Basel.
João Galamba, Secretary of State for the Environment and Energy, joined the event and, in an online message, reinforced the issue of urban waste as “a concern of the last 40 years in Europe and that has been affirmed in Portugal”.
“In fact, improperly managed waste has a strong impact on the emission of greenhouse gases, on the use and contamination of soils and groundwater and on the excessive consumption of natural resources, which compromises the objective of carbon neutrality and poses high risks for public health", he added.
The director of the portfolio also spoke of the challenge that constitutes the proper management of waste in Portugal, highlighting the issue of recovery and recycling of waste, promotion of circularity of the economy or the awareness of citizens in the adoption of more sustainable behaviors.
In the end, he also stressed the role of the Government in this system of “acting as a catalyst”, announcing some of the country’s strategic plans.
in which waste management is one of the axes, as well as the funding provided.
In the closing session, Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé, highlighted the work carried out by the Municipality “under the umbrella of the objectives of sustainable development and adaptation to climate change”.
«We have to, more and more, marry Smart Cities, with what they mean and what they bring to urban management, with the
environmental sustainability within the cities themselves. We are very committed to bringing about this marriage and we are here to collaborate in this national goal».
Luís Almeida Capão, president of the Association, said that «there was never any doubt within the team that this event, being in Loulé, would be another proof of what has been the association's ability to be transversal, both from the territorial point of view and in terms of ability to discuss ideas and bring together in the same space the ability to think about the future of urban cleaning».
Next year, this meeting will take place in October, in Cascais.
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