A new EU-funded waste treatment plant on the Portuguese island of São Miguel will increase recycling capacity, save landfill space and better protect the environment. The project will also help Portugal comply with several EU directives and contribute to the implementation of the Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Management of Waste in the Azores (PEPGRA).
- 14 July 2020
São Miguel is the most populous island in the Azores archipelago, with stunning landscapes that attract tourists from around the world. Sending its waste to landfills has to change, both due to a lack of land and the need to comply with the EU’s Waste Framework Directive, Landfill Directive, Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, and its circular economy package.
Specifically, the EU investment will fund:
mechanical pre-treatment to separate waste that can be recycled and biodegradable waste; a packaging sorting centre; an organic waste recovery facility for green and biodegradable waste; a biological treatment facility to further process organic waste; pre-treatment of forest biomass; an energy recovery unit; three landfill sites; a plant to treat water that has leached through waste material and which will include a reverse osmosis unit; and technical support buildings and infrastructure.Of the three new landfills, one will be for waste that cannot be recovered. The other two are for slag and for ash left over from incineration, which will include a wastewater treatment facility.
Less waste in landfills
The project is in line with environmental, energy and sustainable development policies to reduce dependence on fossil fuels through energy generated from non-recyclable waste. The project will help preserve São Miguel’s environment and has socioeconomic benefits.
Furthermore, it will help achieve Portugal's municipal solid waste management strategy known as Persu 2020. This mandates that, for São Miguel, at least half of all waste, by weight, must be prepared for reuse and recycling. No more than 40 % of all biodegradable municipal waste, by weight, is allowed to go to landfills.
It is anticipated that the new waste sorting centre, along with mechanical pre-treatment and campaigns to encourage the population to sort their waste, will increase the amount of recyclable waste collected from 8 503 tonnes in 2019 to 18 789 tonnes per year by 2053.
The new energy recovery unit will divert approximately 60 000 tonnes of solid waste from landfills each year. This is 82 % of the municipal solid waste produced on the island annually.
The project will ensure that 60.4 % of municipal waste is prepared for reuse and recycling by 2024, compared with 22.7 % in 2015, a target defined by PEPGRA. The aim is to have no biodegradable municipal waste in landfills by 2024.
Environmental benefits
Waste processing is a significant industrial activity on the island and the project will contribute to job creation in the form of purchase of services from suppliers, and maintenance and operation of equipment. The project will reduce the environmental footprint of sectors like energy and tourism.
The island’s environment will benefit from more recycling of waste, which will result in a better quality of life for locals and higher property values. Greater production and use of compost will improve soil quality.
Through incineration, the new plant will produce gas, ash and slag, which can harm both the environment and human health. However, the facility will incorporate the best available technology to mitigate their impact and be subject to strict control and monitoring measures.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Integrated System for the Treatment, Recovery and Final Disposal of Municipal Solid Waste on the island of São Miguel” is EUR 94 753 480, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 65 990 036 through the “Sustainability and Resource Use Efficiency” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Environment Protection and promotion of resource efficiency.”