Algarve waste study due in 11 months, minister promises no negative impacts

Study signed in Faro

Portugal's Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, said on 30 October 2026 that the solution for treating waste in the Algarve will not have negative effects on the population. She spoke to journalists in Faro on the sidelines of the signing of a collaboration contract for a study called Technical Solutions for the Treatment of the Residual Fraction in the Algarve Region. The contract links the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) with the Faculty of Science and Technology of NOVA University Lisbon and was signed at the headquarters of the Algarve intermunicipal community (AMAL). The study runs for 11 months, is coordinated by NOVA University Lisbon and will draw on the universities of the Algarve and Aveiro. The minister described the residual fraction as the waste that cannot be avoided, separated, recycled or reused, and said the available options are limited.

“It will always be the solution that has no negative impacts on the population that lives here and visits here.”

Pressure on the region

According to figures presented at the study launch, the Algarve produces 2.06 kilograms of waste per inhabitant per day, against a national average of 1.35. The minister linked the high figure to tourist pressure and the floating population. Algar, the company that manages and treats waste in the region, processes more than 400,000 tonnes of urban waste a year. The figure for landfilling differs between sources: the environmental association ZERO put it at 85%, while another report gave more than 80%. The region's two landfills, in Portimão and Loulé, are close to exhaustion, although a new cell is planned for each. Portugal currently landfills 54% of its waste, against a European Union target of 10% for 2035.

Algarve2.06

National average1.35

Algarve

2.06 kg

National average

1.35 kg

Data from the article text

Options on the table

The minister said the residual fraction can be handled through incineration, mechanical and biological treatment, which ZERO proposed, or conversion into energy. Asked whether incineration, which she had suggested in August, was still the main option, she pointed to the study. She promised to take a decision as soon as the study is complete. The study will therefore decide between options that have not yet been costed by the government itself, and the timing of the decision depends on the 11-month work.

ZERO's proposal and its cost claims

ZERO said it received a letter from the minister confirming that the study would assess its mechanical and biological treatment proposal, among other options, and welcomed that step. The proposal involves installing two mechanical and biological treatment units upstream of the two Algar landfills, in Loulé and Portimão, able to handle all organic waste and sort much of the recyclables. ZERO said this would divert about 70% of unsorted waste from landfill quickly. The association estimated that installing these units could take up to three years, while incineration would take at least seven years. It also said its option could be financed by European Union funds and would cost no more than 150 million euros. Incineration, without access to European funding, would cost at least 300 million euros, and the figure would be higher because of a carbon capture requirement for new plants.

Mechanical and biological treatment, not more than150

Incineration without EU funding, at least300

Mechanical and biological treatment, not more than

150 million euros

Incineration without EU funding, at least

300 million euros

Data from the article text

What happens next

The study will take 11 months, and the minister has committed to a decision once it concludes. Until then the two Algar landfills will continue to receive most of the region's waste, with more than 80% or 85% going directly to landfill depending on the source. The new cells planned for Portimão and Loulé are intended to add capacity while the choice is made. ZERO's comparison of timelines and costs will be tested against the study's findings, which will also cover the Algarve universities' and Aveiro's inputs.