National Waste Management Systems defend water and waste tariffs
The Waste Management Systems, which provide the public service of collecting recyclables and treating urban waste, support the new order published by the government (Order 12876-A/2024), insofar as it finally implements the polluter pays principle and ensures that packaging producers pay amounts closer to the cost of collecting and treating packaging placed on the market.
The amount in force for paying for the collection and treatment of packaging has not been revised for 7 years. Between 2022 and 2024 alone, the difference borne by the 174 municipalities served by EGF's systems was 135 million euros, an amount borne by the tariff paid by the municipalities and which should have been borne by the packaging producers.
The decision taken is fair and well-founded, although it is a little late. Although it still doesn't cover the total costs of waste collection and treatment, nor does it reimburse municipalities for the costs of the past, it finally corrects the way of working from January 2025.
This decision is based on the figures proposed by a study carried out by Ambirumo - an independent entity contracted by the Portuguese Environment Agency. This study has been known to all interested parties since 2023. It should be noted that ERSAR, the sector's regulator, has already communicated the proposed waste management tariff for 2025, which remains the same as 2024, based on this Order.
Finally the polluter PAYS
It is unacceptable to dilute the responsibility of only a few in a bill that belongs to everyone, and the citizen cannot, and should not, pay for the collection and treatment of packaging placed on the market in the water bill. This is the responsibility of the producer and consumer of this packaging.
For example, if a person drinks water from the tap, they pay for the water they consume, which includes the cost of the entire infrastructure; if they buy a bottle of water, they have to pay for that water, the cost of its packaging and the collection and treatment that will be given to it after consumption, i.e. when it becomes waste.
The decision now taken will thus make it possible to maintain water tariffs in 2025, in the component that refers to urban waste management, ensuring that citizens have a choice and can make smarter choices.
About EGF:
EGF is a leading European company in the environmental sector and a leader in the treatment and recovery of waste in Portugal. As part of the MOTA-ENGIL Group, it is responsible for ensuring the treatment and recovery of waste in the most environmentally correct and economically sustainable way, contributing to improving the quality of life and the environment.
The waste treatment and recovery systems are managed by 11 concession companies (Algar, Amarsul, Ersuc, Resiestrela, Resinorte, Resulima, Suldouro, Valorlis, Valorminho, Valnor, Valorsul), set up in partnership with the municipalities they serve, which process around 3.3 million tons of municipal waste (MW) every year, serving a population of 6.3 million people spread over 174 municipalities, in an area equivalent to 60% of Portugal's territory.
More information at https://www.egf.pt
About ESGRA:
ESGRA - Associação para a Gestão de Resíduos (Waste Management Association), is a private non-profit association, created in 2009 with the mission of promoting the exercise of urban waste management activity, aligned with a strategic and sustainable development model, in order to contribute to the continuous improvement of public health and the environment, as well as to the transition to a circular economy model.
ESGRA currently represents 15 entities, 14 of which are Municipal Waste Management Systems (SGRU), on the mainland and in the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira - an area of 41,850 km2 (45% of the national total) and a population of 4,091 million inhabitants (39%), corresponding to 2,137,694 tons of waste per year (40%), produced in the municipalities that make up the area of intervention of its members.
More information at https://www.esgra.pt/