The Minister of Environment, Maria da Graça Carvalho, rejected the possibility of new landfills being built in Portugal, during the opening session of the Castro Mineiro festival, in Castro Verde, in the Beja district. The minister stated that the new 'Terra +' strategy, approved by the Council of Ministers, aims to decrease the percentage of waste deposited in landfills.
The 'Terra +' strategy sets a national goal to reach 2035 with only 10% of waste deposited in landfills. The document includes measures for prevention, behavior change, waste separation, and various treatment solutions, with a planned total investment of 2.3 billion euros, of which 1.6 billion in public investment, between 2026 and 2030. The minister highlighted that the strategy aims to solve waste problems in Portugal through production reduction, reuse, recycling, and biomethane production.
As an example of a region with a more complex situation, Maria da Graça Carvalho referred to the Algarve, which has its two landfills practically full and waste production that is double the national average. In this context, the possibility of building an incinerator in the region is under evaluation, considering that new incinerators are much cleaner than in the past.
The Portuguese Environment Agency will launch a study on October 15 to evaluate the best technology and location for the Algarve. The minister emphasized, however, that energy recovery from waste is an expensive solution, which should only be used as a last resort.
