Waste - State and impacts (Portugal)

Portugal has made great efforts to achieve the same results in waste management as other EU states. This has been achieved by increasing recycling and recovery of several types of waste, especially urban waste (UW) and packaging.

In addition to the priority attached to urban and industrial waste and to certain specific flows such as electrical and electronic waste (WEEE), end-of-life vehicles, used mineral oils, used tyres and batteries and accumulators, planning and strategy have also focused on waste produced by hospitals, agriculture and demolition and construction activities.

Urban waste (UW)

Nearly 5.059 billion tonnes of UW were produced in Portugal in 2008, more than the target of 4.993 billion tonnes set by Portugal’s Strategic Solid Urban Waste Plan 2007-2016 (PERSU II) for that year. UW production in mainland Portugal in 2008 was 4.787 billion tonnes, equivalent to nearly 1.3 kg per inhabitant per day, which is below the European average, but higher than the 2004 levels of 1.2 kg per inhabitant per day (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Daily production and collection of urban waste in mainland Portugal

Source: APA, 2009

Around 65 % of all UW produced in mainland Portugal goes to landfill (Figure 2), 18 % is incinerated with energy recovery and 9 % recovered though separate collection. Only 8 % of all waste is sent for organic recovery.

Figure 2 Treatment and final destination of UW in mainland Portugal

Source: APA, 2009

Nearly half – 2.606 billion tonnes – of the 4.787 billion tonnes of UW produced in mainland Portugal in 2008 was biodegradable urban waste (BUW). The vast majority, 67 %, was sent to sanitary landfills, 18 % used for energy recovery, 8 % used for organic recovery and 7 % of paper and cardboard waste (BUW) was recycled (Figure 3).

Figure 3 Destination of biodegradable urban waste in mainland Portugal, 2008

Source: APA, 2009

A total of 535 035 tonnes of packaging waste was recycled in 2008, with 328 184 tonnes coming from urban and 206 851 tonnes from non-urban flows. There has been a gradual rise in the amount of packaging waste generated and an increasing amount is recycled. The amount of packaging waste sent for energy recovery has fallen since 2003 (Figure 4).

Figure 4 Packaging waste produced compared to the amount recycled and sent for energy recovery

Source: APA, 2009

In 2007, 82 % of all paper and cardboard packaging waste was recycled – the highest recycling rate of all – followed by wooden packaging waste, 71 %, and metal packaging waste, 63 %. Forty-six percent of glass packaging waste was recycled, unchanged since 2006. The recycling rate for plastic packaging waste in 2006 and 2007 was 15 % (Table 1). 

Table 1 Recycling and recovery rates of packaging waste

Source: APA, 2009

Non-urban waste (NUW)

Nearly 31 million tonnes of non-urban waste were produced in 2006, representing a year-on-year drop of nearly 2.5 %, with the extractive and construction industries experiencing the biggest reduction in absolute terms. Mining and quarrying activities, cement and ready-mixed concrete industries, building and aggregated commercial and services activities were the sectors that generated the most waste.

Between 2004 and 2006, the proportion of hazardous waste within total non-urban waste production increased by 9 % to reach 19 % of the total, with commercial and service activities contributing most to this growth.

Figure 5 Production of hazardous and non-hazardous non-urban waste, 2004-2006

Source: INR, 2007; APA, 2008

As regards the final destination of non-urban waste, recovery operations were the main form of waste management in 2004 and 2005. The amount of waste disposed of in 2006 exceeded the amount of waste recovered by nearly 2.5 million tonnes. 

Figure 6 Non-urban waste, by destination

Source: INR, 2007; APA, 2008

Transboundary movement of waste

At 40 113 tonnes, the amount of waste sent outside Portugal for recovery in 2008 was nearly 17 000 tonnes less than the previous year. In the same year 154 709 tonnes of waste were sent for disposal, nearly 37 000 tonnes more than in 2007. As in previous years, the amount of waste sent for disposal was somewhat higher than the amount sent for recovery. The main country to which such waste was sent in 2008, either for recovery or for disposal, was Spain.

Figure 7 Transboundary waste transfers (hazardous and non-hazardous)

Source: APA, 2009

Further information at:

http://www.apambiente.pt/politicasambiente/Residuos/Paginas/default.aspx