The figures appear in a video produced by three waste sector entities that is now being circulated to draw attention to the fact that only 10 percent of Portugal’s waste is currently recycled.
Each person in Portugal produces 473kg of rubbish a year, it is said, and also that if people make a point of “always” recycling “everything” they can, as individuals, contribute to the reuse of 100kg of materials.
Collecting and treating waste in Portugal costs €755 million a year, or more than €75 per person, so the more is recycled the lower the cost for all.
Titled “Reciclar é agora” (Recycle Now), the two-minute video aims at raising awareness of the need to separate and recycle used packaging, by showing the environmental, social and economic impact of waste. It states that it is possible, by separating “all packages, always and anywhere,” and then recycling them, to protect the environment and streamline the economy.
At present, the video notes, 16 percent of waste is transformed into organic material for use in agriculture and forests, while 23 percent is burned for energy. The waste management as a whole accounts for more than 13,000 jobs.
The campaign is the result of a partnership between EGF (Environmental Global Facilities, a leader in waste treatment and recovery), ESGRA (Association for Waste Management, representing 14 waste management systems) and ERSAR (Regulatory Authority for Water and Waste services).
It was supported by Sociedade Ponto Verde, the entity that organises and manages the recovery and processing of packaging waste, and whose objectives include raising awareness of the best environmental practices.