Faro, Portugal, May 28, 2026 (Lusa) – The president of the Portuguese environmental association, Almargem, said on Thursday that expanding landfills in the Algarve "is not a sustainable solution" for treating municipal solid waste and violates national and European legislation.
Edgar Ribeiro told Lusa news agency that expanding landfill capacity constitutes "a clear violation of current legislation and EU directives". He warned of the urgent need to meet European targets, particularly regarding biodegradable and organic waste.
The environmental leader warned that the Algarve's existing landfills, one in the Barlavento (west) and another in the Sotavento (east), will reach saturation capacity by 2028. He said that the continuous disposal of unsorted waste worsens the issue and argued that creating new landfill cells fails to solve it.
"There is a fundamental problem, which also has a legal basis, regarding how organic waste continues to be managed in the Algarve," he stated.
He said that the region shows "clear non-compliance, with a very high landfill disposal rate of around 80%, when the recommendation is not to exceed 10%" for the biodegradable proportion.
Apart from treatment failures, the association points to difficulties in waste separation at source. "There is a serious problem with separation and very low levels of domestic recycling," he said, adding that tourism intensifies waste production and "creates even greater pressure on these infrastructures."
Almargem views the opening of new landfill cells as merely a "quick fix" that fails to address the structural problem.
"If we do not solve the problem upstream, namely waste separation and treatment, these new cells will also quickly reach saturation," he said.
The association advocates the "urgent reinforcement" of mechanical and biological treatment capacity as an alternative, allowing for the creation of differentiated waste streams.
"These units perform mechanical sorting of recyclables and stabilisation of the organic component, which allows about 70% of the waste volume to be diverted from landfills," he said.
Proposed solutions include measures adopted in other European countries, such as door-to-door collection, the application of the "polluter pays" principle, and the creation of effective sorting systems accessible to the public.
He said that the expansion of landfills must be "blocked", advocating instead for "the implementation of mitigation measures and an integrated waste management model".
He said that "only in this way will it be possible to ensure a more sustainable policy aligned with European best practices."
JPC/RYOL // AYLS
Lusa
