Portugal is running out of space to place its waste. The Council of Ministers approved this Friday the TERRA strategy – Efficient Transformation of Waste into Environmental Resources, which requires an investment of 2.3 billion euros by 2030. The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, warned that "it is indeed a very serious problem", considering this plan "one of the biggest investment programs of this decade". The strategy had been presented for the first time by the Government in March 2025, when Emídio Sousa was Secretary of State for the Environment.
According to the data presented, 13 of the country's 32 landfills are running out of space and more than half of the trash produced in Portugal ends up deposited in landfills. This scenario contrasts with the national and European goal of reaching 2035 with only 10% of waste having the landfill as its final destination. Emídio Sousa had indicated that investments would amount to 2.1 billion euros, supported by 700 million euros in community funds, but Leitão Amaro now spoke of 1.6 billion euros in public investment.
From 2022 to 2023, urban waste production in the country increased by 0.28%, reaching 5.338 million tonnes, equivalent to about 500 kilograms per inhabitant. Of this waste, 59% is deposited in landfills, 14% is recycled, 12% is used for energy recovery and 8% for organic recovery.
The strategy includes three lines of action: prevention of waste production, expansion of landfill capacity through optimization (and not expansion) and institutional actions. The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, stated that expanding landfill cells "seems like the easiest solution, but it is not", facing resistance from local populations. The plan also includes promoting infrastructure sharing, strengthening sorting capacity, organic recovery and energy recovery.
