The PCP defended, this Friday, September 15th, the reversal of the privatization of Algar, since the «serious shortcomings» in the collection of recycling bins «cannot remain without consequences».
In a statement, the communists recall that «the accumulation of rubbish in recycling bins throughout the Algarve is already recurring».
«This summer we once again witnessed this degrading image for the region and dangerous for the populations and their quality of life. This situation confirms that the privatization of Algar is contrary to the interests of the populations and only serves the interests of economic groups that accumulate profits from this activity, disregarding the public service and the needs of the populations», they argue.
«The necessary solution to this problem is the reversal of the privatization of Algar and the recovery of public control of the company, along with investment in improving the conditions for collecting and treating recyclable solid waste», it also reads.
The collection and management of recyclable waste, as well as the treatment and disposal of urban solid waste in the region, was granted to private parties in 1995 and has been privatized since 2014, as a result of the privatization process of Empresa Geral de Fomento (EGF).
These decisions and the losses that result for the Algarve and the people of the Algarve are, accuses the PCP, «entirely the responsibility of PS, PSD and CDS».
«With the recurring situation of lack of collection and widespread accumulation of rubbish, in addition to public health problems, the effective treatment of this type of waste is also at stake. By not being collected in a timely manner, allowing deposit situations to be created outside the containers and leading to widespread dirt around recycling bins, this waste ends up being treated as undifferentiated waste, not being properly routed and treated", says the Communist Party .
The failures that have been occurring in the collection of recyclables are, in the PCP's view, «a direct consequence of privatization and private management criteria that put shareholder profits ahead of the service that should be provided to the population».
«In view of the failures of Algar's private management in collecting the waste that is its responsibility, what we have seen happening is the local authorities replacing Algar in this collection», as happens in Portimão or Albufeira, for example.
«The result of this option is unacceptable: the profits remain for Algar shareholders, but the burden of inefficient private management is being transferred to municipalities and citizens. The necessary solution is the reversal of the privatization of Algar and the recovery of public control of the company», concludes the PCP.
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