The Minister of Environment, Maria da Graça Carvalho, demanded urgent action from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and the Coordination and Regional Development Commission (CCDR) of Alentejo to resolve the problem of bad smell and "clouds" of flies affecting the populations of Castro Verde, Aljustrel and Mértola. The situation, which has been ongoing since 2025, is caused by the deposition of sludge on agricultural land used as fertilizer.
Maria da Graça Carvalho verified the situation on September 4 during her visit to Castro Verde for the inauguration of the Castro Mineiro festival. Faced with complaints from local officials and the population, she requested from APA and CCDR of Alentejo information about actions already taken and those to be promoted to resolve the problem, giving a deadline of 10 days for the submission of these elements.
The Castro Verde City Council had already submitted a complaint to the CCDR of Alentejo stating that the deposition of sludge has caused "negative and unacceptable impacts" on the municipality, including nauseating smell and clouds of flies affecting homes and tourist accommodation establishments across a wide area of the municipality. The mayor of the municipality, António José Brito, stated that the municipality cannot continue to accept this situation.
The problem also includes the degradation of municipal roads, namely Municipal Road EM 535, used by heavy vehicles transporting the sludge to agricultural operations. According to the mayor, a joint inspection by the CCDR with the SEPNA of the GNR in Almodôvar was already carried out at the site at the end of August.
