Algarve Told to Fix Existing Waste Plants Before Reaching for Incineration

The environmental association ZERO has called on the Algarve to expand the waste treatment facilities it already has rather than turn to incineration, according to The Portugal News. Its proposals were put to the Environment Minister and centre on upgrading the region's two mechanical and biological treatment plants, known as MBT plants, so that less rubbish ends up in landfill.

ZERO wants Algar, the company responsible for waste management in the Algarve, to upgrade and expand those plants. The association prefers this route to building new facilities for mixed waste that cannot be separated at source, and it notes that finding sites for new installations could cause political difficulties. It also sees an immediate priority in separating household waste from business waste. Environmental engineer Rui Berkemeier said businesses producing more than 1,100 litres of municipal-type waste per day, including hotels and other economic activities, should have their own waste management arrangements. He believes the Algarve is not fully enforcing that requirement, which adds pressure on landfill sites.

Food scraps and other biodegradable waste are the second concern. MBT can process this material before disposal, which helps limit odours, methane emissions and wastewater that is harder to treat. ZERO considers Algar's Urban Waste Action Plan, known as PAPERSU, inadequate because the proposed arrangements would leave around 70,000 tonnes of waste untreated. Berkemeier said organic waste should not continue to go to landfill untreated.

The debate has a concrete trigger. An Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission gave a conditional favourable decision for Cell D, a new section of the Sotavento Sanitary Landfill in Loulé. Cell D is expected to hold about 875,000 tonnes of waste, with annual deposits of 150,000 tonnes and an estimated operational life of five to eight years. During public consultation, ZERO and the environmental association Almargem raised concerns about untreated organic waste entering landfills and about shortcomings in collection and sorting systems. According to the assessment, depositing waste with an unstable organic fraction breaches the legal framework for landfill disposal, and ZERO says this supports banning the deposit of mixed waste containing biodegradable material without prior treatment.

ZERO also criticises the Environment Minister for publicly backing incineration without mentioning MBT as an alternative. Berkemeier said the minister told the meeting that all solutions remained under consideration. The association wants the study planned by the Portuguese Environment Agency, APA, to examine the treatment systems already operating in the Algarve, as well as alternatives that have worked elsewhere in Portugal, including the Alentejo. In its view, reinforcing existing infrastructure and improving organic waste handling should be properly assessed before any decision on new facilities or incineration.

The question ZERO is putting to the authorities is a practical one: whether the largest gain lies in making existing plants work harder, and keeping organic waste out of landfill, before committing to new capacity or a different technology altogether.

Why it matters

Landfilled food waste is a quiet source of methane, and the Algarve case shows that the cheapest climate gain is often the least glamorous one. Treating organic waste before it reaches Cell D would cut emissions, odours and leachate with infrastructure that already exists. For regions weighing incineration, ZERO's argument is a reminder to assess what current plants can do first.