Longevity marks the new license cycle
In 2024, Electrão saw the publication of new licenses renewing its activity in the management of three of the three recycling systems in which it participates: packaging, batteries and used electrical equipment
Longevity is the great novelty of the new generation of licenses, which are now valid for a period of 10 years, allowing Electrão to plan for the longer term.
This longer period will enable Electrão to define investments more strategically, prepare tenders and choose the partners who will support it in promoting the collection, sorting, recycling and recovery of waste from these three recycling systems over the coming years.
The new licenses also reinforce a set of obligations regarding transparency and the traceability of waste, from its origin through sorting and treatment, not forgetting the incorporation of secondary raw materials into new products.
Landfills are close to the limi
The available capacity of landfills in Portugal, with the exception of a few less critical areas, is very close to its limit. This is because Portugal still currently puts around 60% of the municipal waste it produces into landfill.
Electrão can play an important role here by helping to divert waste from landfill and minimizing the problems posed by the announced exhaustion of landfill capacity.
Packaging, in particular, is a very important part of the total urban waste produced in Portugal, which overall amounts to around 5 million tons, approximately 500 kilos per inhabitant per year. Of these 5 million, approximately 1.5 million tons correspond to urban and non-urban packaging.
In 2024, the national packaging recycling system achieved a take-back rate of only 58% of the packaging placed on the market. There is therefore enormous potential for diverting packaging from landfill. By 2025, the country will have to guarantee the selective collection of 65% of the packaging placed on the market, which is why this development will be a matter of urgency.
Quality of service in the collection of packaging remains less than desirable
The quality of service provided by municipalities and groups of municipalities, more specifically Urban Waste Management Systems (SGRU), in the collection of packaging from the population is still less than desirable.
A report recently released by the Water and Waste Services Regulatory Authority (ERSAR) showed that only 60% of recycling bins are located in places considered to be close to the citizen.
This means that a very significant proportion of ecopoints are still far from the citizen, which acts as a highly discouraging factor for Portuguese families to separate and send their waste for recycling.
Even though Portugal is failing to meet its collection and recycling targets for different types of waste, it continues to block the participation of management entities in defining and making collection and recycling operational. Electrão has already reiterated its willingness to set up a network that complements that of the municipalities and to collaborate directly in the collection and sorting of packaging that is discarded by the Portuguese.
