A mobile unit—housed in a truck—is currently in Coimbra to raise awareness about the importance of recycling, particularly regarding biowaste.

Recycling is increasingly becoming a crucial step for every household. With the implementation of the “Volta” packaging deposit-refund system, attention has once again turned to this topic; to ensure renewed focus on the various types of recycling, the Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) has launched a new initiative to inform both the general public and municipal authorities.

“Currently, we capture about 14% of biowaste, but we aim to reach 60% by 2030; we have a long road ahead,” explained Ana Cristina Carrola, a board member at the APA. According to the expert, current data shows that over 50% of biowaste ends up in landfills, rendering it unusable. “All the value that could be extracted from this resource remains buried,” she noted.

As Ana Cristina Carrola explained, this type of “waste” often ends up mixed with general household trash, making it impossible to salvage or transform into “useful” material. “Biowaste is highly valuable; it can be reused in various ways—such as for fuel—but if it isn’t separated, it ends up with a very short lifecycle.” To extend this lifecycle, the first step is to explain to the public how to separate it and, above all, what it actually is. “Biowaste includes, for example, uneaten food—such as peanut shells, orange peels, and bread scraps—as well as garden leaves and grass clippings,” highlighted Paulo Mansilha, one of the technicians staffing the APA’s mobile unit. The truck arrived in Coimbra yesterday and will be at Praça da República informing the community until Sunday. “To make use of this resource, it is necessary to separate it into the brown bin—and that is what we want to highlight and help show people the importance of,” the young man revealed.

To ensure it reaches more people, the APA roadshow will travel to various locations across the country. Aveiro, Braga, Castelo Branco, Évora, and Portimão are the next stops, ensuring that every district is informed not only about what bio-waste is but also about how to request the brown bin from their municipality. “There are already 200 municipalities offering this, and we want that number to keep growing,” the official stated.

Roadshow featuring activities and giveaways for kids

The primary focus of the Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) is to educate the community in order to change current habits and evolve society for the future. To this end, one of the strategies adopted was to organize small games and challenges for children.

“We have a range of games, activities, and giveaways so they can come here, learn, and challenge themselves,” explains Paulo Mansilha, one of the representatives at the APA roadshow. “If children gain this knowledge and get into the habit of sorting their waste, then we will see change,” he noted, confident that the future will bring a shift in behavior. However, this is already the second phase of an initiative that also aims to raise awareness about overconsumption and the lack of care taken when sorting waste. “Many households still do not recycle at the source—meaning they do not allow the waste to be recovered and put to good use,” Ana Cristina Carrola, a member of the APA’s board of directors, told the Diário de Coimbra newspaper.

Through these on-the-ground activities engaging various age groups, the hope is that more and more people will adopt the use of the brown bin and “gradually” bring about “an important change”—one that could lead to the recovery of a resource currently being “lost” due to a lack of knowledge.

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