SORTING UNITS
Sorting plants are facilities with various pieces of equipment whose function is to ensure the mechanical and manual separation of all the materials received and which have been selectively collected from the public.
Once citizens have sorted the materials, they have to remove any that can't be recycled for some reason and separate them by type of material, in the case of packaging from the yellow recycling point, as they are not all recycled in the same way.
Separating by different types of material allows the various materials to be sent to the recycling industry with the necessary quality requirements. In this way, the recyclable materials separated by the population and placed in the recycling bins (or collected by other systems) can be transformed into new products in the future.
The EGF Group has 19 packaging sorting centres, from the north to the south of the country, of different sizes and capacities, which ensure this meticulous task with quality and rigour. In 2023, 380,000 tonnes of paper, glass, plastic and metal were processed and sent for recycling, saving the country and the planet resources.
SELECTIVE PACKAGING COLLECTION
EGF is also responsible for the selective collection of packaging in 174 municipalities in Portugal, through its 11 Concessionaires. This service, which is essential to the operation of the sorting centres, is close to the population and can be carried out in various ways, according to each geographical area and each target group: collection by ecopoints, door-to-door, with ecological islands. Recyclable materials are also received through voluntary deliveries.
To this end, it has more than 368,000 containers for selective collection throughout its territory and maintains a fleet of 413 collection vehicles. This service is provided using geographic information systems and the latest methodologies, with the aim of optimising routes and journeys, monitoring how full the containers are and guaranteeing high levels of efficiency.
EGF also has 94 ecocentres, used for selective disposal and specific collections of undifferentiated waste and organic waste. The selective collection of packaging is a necessary condition for the operation of the facilities, which requires a great deal of work and planning and is ensured by all the companies in the EGF Universe.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
In addition to waste collection and treatment operations, there is another fundamental activity - environmental education. Citizens' co-operation must be guaranteed if packaging is to be collected and recycled; this is the first step in ensuring that waste is transformed into products and re-circulated in the economy.