Ponta Delgada, Azores Islands, Portugal, Sept. 3, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal's Azores Islands will be included, as from Wednesday, in the European Interreg VI project, which aims to “reduce dependence” on unsustainable textiles and “strengthen the local economy”, the Azorean regional government announced.
Interreg VI D Madeira, Azores and Canaries is called "Weaving a sustainable future" and aims to promote the circular economy in the textile sector.
Quoted in a statement from the regional government, the regional secretary for the Environment and Climate Action, Alonso Miguel, said that "the central objective is to reduce dependence on unsustainable textiles and strengthen the local economy".
The aim is to achieve this goal "by promoting the reuse, recycling and more efficient management of textile waste in the Macaronesian regions (Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Cabo Verde) and in African partner countries", according to the minister.
Alonso Miguel adds that the project aims to "promote the transition to a more sustainable model of production and consumption, thereby reducing the fraction of textile waste that is incinerated or landfilled".
The head of the Environment portfolio said that the aim was also to encourage reuse and recycling "through technological, management and cooperation solutions adapted to the regional context", in a project budgeted at €230,000 and co-financed by the Interreg MAC programme.
The minister believes that "with the development of the circular economy, it will be possible to achieve value enhancement of the waste produced and, consequently, a reduction in the consumption of raw materials and the production of waste that is not recovered or reused".
As this European project gets underway, the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action "is calling on all Azoreans to participate in the diagnosis of the textile sector" by taking part in surveys, thus making it possible to "assess the current situation regarding the use and destination of used (post-consumer) textiles on all the islands of the archipelago".
Alonso Miguel adds that this project aims to publicise the potential of the "9 Circular Islands" platform and redefine public policies for used textiles, which "currently represent a significant challenge in urban waste management, and to raise awareness among the population about the prevention and value enhancement of this waste".
"The ultimate goal is to move towards a “zero waste generation” in the Azores, in line with the principles of the circular economy and environmental sustainability," he concludes.
In addition to the regional and local governments, the Universidad de Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, the Universidad de La Laguna in Tenerife, the University of the Azores, the University of Cabo Verde and the University of São Tomé and Príncipe are involved.
Other technology centres are also involved, as well as civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations, such as AJITER - Associação Juvenil da Ilha Terceira and the Gaspar Frutuoso Foundation, while the business sector is also present through the Commercial and Industrial Association of Funchal - Chamber of Commerce and Madeira.
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