Tondela, Viseu, Portugal, June 12, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's minister for the environment argued on Friday that reducing solid waste is not just an environmental issue, but also an ethical and economic one, and announced that by 2027 there will be an alternative to lightweight plastic bags in supermarkets.
“It is no longer just an environmental issue; it is also an ethical issue, a matter of commitment to future generations, because when we produce waste and do not reuse it, it has to be treated, and treatment is expensive,” said Maria da Graça Carvalho.
The minister for the environment and energy emphasised that treating waste “is very costly for society and the state budget” and, when it is not treated, “it is also costly”, because Portugal pays “heavy fines to the European Commission”.
"For plastic alone, we have paid €600 million over the last three years. When we produce waste, we are spending the state budget that could be used for other things – for healthcare, education or environmental issues, or to improve our quality of life – so this is a mission for all of us," she said.
Among the options available to any citizen is going shopping and buying in bulk, as in the old days, as well as cooking or going to a restaurant and taking home leftovers to reuse, the minister suggested, noting that “the amount of household bio-waste in Portugal is very high”.
The minister was speaking to journalists about the need for a "change in mindset" on the sidelines of the ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of the Association of Local Authorities of the Planalto Beirão Region, in Tondela, in the district of Viseu.
“Our European target for landfill disposal is 10% by 2035. When we took office in April 2024, the figure stood at 59%, and we have now reduced it to 54%, but we are still a long way off,” she acknowledged.
Reducing the landfill rate, the minister argued, “must be a joint effort by the government, local authorities”, and “civil society, large retailers, distributors” and citizens.
She argued that it is necessary to “change mindsets and procedures so that there is less and less waste”, even saying that “this should already have happened”.
“We are now trying out new alternatives so that next year we will not use lightweight plastic bags and will have alternatives to them,” she added.
To this end, the government is working with the supermarket association, which has already presented alternatives to lightweight plastic bags, using “other materials”, such as fabric.
"We produce 519 kilograms of waste per year; therefore, there are areas of the country that produce more than two kilograms of waste per person per day, well above European targets, and rather than decreasing, we are tending to increase," she acknowledged.
Speaking to journalists, the minister said that measures are underway in the country, some supported by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), such as the “use and enhancement of biomethane”.
“We now have a very wide range of projects producing renewable gas; we have strongly encouraged this production and, with all the legislation that makes it possible, we have simplified the procedures for project authorisations,” she said.
Maria da Graça Carvalho added that biomethane projects are underway in cities such as Évora, Beja, Faro and Olhão, which “are already, in part, being supplied with biomethane”.
The production of fuel derived from waste, “known as energy enhancement of the residual fraction”, is another measure the minister highlighted to journalists as a means of reducing solid waste.
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