Algarve landfill expansion criticised

The environmental association Zero has deemed "illegal and harmful" the licensing of an expansion at the urban waste landfill in Portimão, which plans to deposit 1.5 million tons of waste over the next decade.

By TPN/Lusa, in News, Portugal, Algarve · 09 Oct 2025, 12:05 · 0 Comments

In a statement, the environmentalists contest the proposal by the Algarve's urban waste management company (A lgar) to expand urban waste disposal, arguing that "of the more than 1.5 million tons of waste, 40% is untreated organic waste."

Zero states that the project "clearly violates current legislation," specifically Decree-Law No. 24/2024, which prohibits the disposal of untreated waste in landfills.

"This landfill project does not provide for the proper sorting of all waste, nor the treatment of all organic waste, making it completely illegal under current legislation," the statement reads.

The public consultation for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project, proposed by the urban waste management company for the 16 municipalities of the Algarve (Algar), ended on September 22.

The association criticizes the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) for submitting the proposal to public consultation, arguing that this "should not have happened."

Zero warns of environmental and public health risks, such as the release of odours, the proliferation of disease vectors, and the production of "highly polluting and difficult-to-treat" leachate.

The organization also emphasizes that the decomposition of organic waste could generate significant emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas, exacerbating climate change.

According to environmentalists, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) itself acknowledges that the current landfill is responsible for 55% of greenhouse gas emissions in the municipality of Portimão.

Zero accuses Algar of "poor management" of urban waste produced in the region, stating that in 2023, 77% of the waste was sent to landfill, totalling approximately 320,000 tons, much of it "illegally due to lack of prior treatment."

The association demands that the project be halted and that "more sustainable and legally compliant" waste management be promoted, with the installation of mechanical and biological treatment units to prevent "untreated organic waste from being landfilled."