The Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) is marking the start of summer with a communication, awareness-raising, and information campaign to combat excessive waste generation in Portugal; the initiative will travel across six districts of the country, from Braga to Portimão.

Between June and September, over 1.8 million tons of municipal waste were generated, with Portugal producing more than 480,000 tons in August alone. The latest phase of the “Let’s separate the waste” campaign aims to raise awareness about the time of year when waste generation spikes, as July and August are the most critical months in Portugal—with August seeing the highest volume of waste produced.

Against this backdrop, APA highlights the urgent need for proper waste sorting during the summer holiday season, encouraging responsible behaviors that ensure waste is correctly routed for recycling. During this seasonal period, when families and friends gather—whether at home or while out and about—proper waste sorting must not be neglected, in order to reduce environmental impact.

APA’s summer awareness initiative features a traveling truck—a “roadshow”—that invites communities to reflect on the importance of waste sorting. The 18-day campaign will visit the cities of Coimbra, Aveiro, Braga, Castelo Branco, Évora, and Portimão.

“Contrary to common belief, summer is consistently the period with the highest waste generation in Portugal. This trend is expected to continue this year. However, it is important to emphasize that trash doesn’t take a break or rest during the summer. With this initiative, we hope to engage communities in an issue that concerns everyone, from the Algarve to the Minho,” says José Pimenta Machado, APA’s president.

The sustainable “Roadshow” trailer features a quiz testing the public’s knowledge of proper waste sorting, a sustainable consumption simulator that identifies consumer profiles, workshops for creating art from recycled materials, and various games for the whole family, among other activities.

The “Roadshow” also features a mural that collects the excuses people give for not sorting their waste correctly at each stop—the “mural of excuses.” This thought-provoking mural aims to challenge the public to make fewer excuses and recycle more.

“Roadshow” stops:
June 19–21 – Coimbra (Praça da República)
June 26–28 – Aveiro
July 3–5 – Braga
July 10–12 – Castelo Branco
July 17–19 – Évora
July 24–26 – Portimão

The event takes place in all the listed cities on Fridays (9:00 AM – 6:00 PM), Saturdays (9:00 AM – 8:00 PM), and Sundays (11:00 AM – 6:00 PM).

The “Let’s separate the waste” campaign runs until the end of 2026.

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