July 9, 2026

An APA campaign highlighting the urgent need for proper waste separation will be in Castelo Branco

The awareness-raising initiative features a traveling truck—a “Roadshow”—that invites communities to reflect on the importance of sorting the waste they generate. This latest phase of the “Let’s separate the waste” campaign highlights the need for proper urban waste sorting during the summer, a season that sees a significant spike in waste generation.

The Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) is marking the start of summer with a communication and awareness campaign—traveling across six districts from Braga to Portimão—to highlight the urgent need for proper urban waste sorting in Portugal.

The next stop for the APA’s summer awareness campaign is the city of Castelo Branco, at Largo da Devesa (near the Fonte Luminosa fountain), running from Friday (9:00 AM – 6:00 PM) through Saturday (9:00 AM – 8:00 PM) and Sunday (11:00 AM – 6:00 PM). In the coming days, the “Roadshow” truck will invite the community of Coimbra to reflect on the importance of sorting the waste generated in their homes.

The “Roadshow’s” sustainable trailer features a quiz testing the public’s knowledge on 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—the “mural of excuses”—which collects the excuses people give for not sorting their waste correctly at each stop. This thought-provoking mural aims to challenge the public to make fewer excuses and recycle more.

This new phase of the APA’s “Let’s separate the waste” campaign draws attention to the time of year when urban waste generation peaks. Between June and September, over 18 million tons of urban waste were produced, with Portugal generating more than 480,000 tons in August alone. The summer campaign aims to raise awareness about the time of year when the greatest increase in waste generation occurs, as July and August represent the most critical period in Portugal, with August seeing the highest volume of waste produced.

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

“Contrary to popular belief, summer is typically the period with the highest waste generation in Portugal. This trend is expected to continue this year. However, it is important to emphasize that waste does not 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, President of the APA.

Upcoming stops for the “Roadshow”:
July 10–12 – Castelo Branco
July 17–19 – Évora
July 24–26 – Portimão

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

Source

#Awareness #Campaign #Summer

July 1, 2026

Waste doesn’t take a holiday: APA wants the Portuguese to ‘recycle’ their summer excuses in a new campaign.

The Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) is stepping up its environmental communication efforts by launching the third phase of the “Let’s separate the waste” campaign—an initiative focusing on one of the most critical periods for waste generation in Portugal this summer. Every year, July and August see a significant spike in the volume of waste produced, driven largely by increased travel, outdoor activities, and holiday habits. It is against this backdrop that the APA aims to highlight the importance of maintaining—or reinforcing—waste-sorting habits.

Developed by the agency Nossa, this new phase of the campaign introduces the concept that, before recycling waste, one must recycle one’s excuses. The APA identifies a set of common summer justifications—ranging from “it all goes to the same place anyway” to the classic “I don’t want the hassle while on vacation”—and turns them into the direct target of its messaging. The core message is that waste sorting doesn’t take a holiday; the impact of these excuses is real, fueling practices that undermine recycling efforts and place greater strain on landfills.

This new campaign phase follows an earlier stage that underscored the urgent need for proper waste sorting—particularly regarding biowaste, as separate collection systems for this type of waste are not yet implemented in all regions of the country. The APA emphasizes that where no specific bin exists for this type of waste, citizens should contact their local municipality directly—a crucial step toward improving information flow and accelerating the adoption of more sustainable practices.

The summer campaign is being rolled out by the agency Nova Expressão across television, radio, digital media, print, and billboards. Concurrently, the APA is touring the country with an 18-day roadshow, bringing awareness-raising activities to various communities. A highlight among the activations is a mural featuring the most common excuses used for failing to sort waste correctly, challenging citizens to reflect on their behavior and adopt more responsible practices.

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

Source

#Awareness #Campaign #Roadshow

June 29, 2026

In Portugal, each person produces more than half a ton of waste per year

The Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) has issued a warning regarding the waste generated in the country during the summer months, noting that 1.8 million tons of municipal waste are produced between June and September alone. APA points out that this rise in waste generation not only causes environmental problems but also places increased strain on collection and recycling systems—particularly on landfills. More than half of municipal waste still ends up in landfills, and the country is currently facing a structural crisis regarding these sites, as there is increasingly less space available for burying additional waste. At present, the average citizen in Portugal produces half a ton of waste per year (519 kilograms per person).

According to José Pimenta Machado, president of the Portuguese Environmental Agency, it is essential to boost recycling rates—which have stagnated at around 20%—and to reduce the burden on landfills. APA is specifically calling for the separation of organic waste, which accounts for a significant portion of the total waste ending up in landfills.

The Portuguese Environmental Agency is conducting a nationwide campaign under the slogan “Let’s separate the waste”. This message is being spread across the cities visited by the campaign to encourage the Portuguese people to generate less waste.

Source

#Awareness #Roadshow

June 29, 2026

Olá Bom dia CMTV

The Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) continues its mission across Portugal—from north to south—to raise awareness about proper waste sorting. Ricardo Azedo found games, talks, promotional activities, and plenty of giveaways in Aveiro. The APA roadshow visited the city during the last weekend of June and drew a large number of visitors.

#Awareness #Campaign #Roadshow

June 29, 2026

The Portuguese Environmental Agency’s campaign will be in Braga at Praça da República from July 3 to 5.

The Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) is marking the start of summer with a communication, awareness-raising, and information campaign highlighting the urgent need for proper urban waste separation in Portugal; the initiative will travel across six districts of the country, from Braga to Portimão.

The next stop for APA’s summer awareness campaign is the city of Braga, at Praça da República, running from Friday (9:00 AM–6:00 PM) through Saturday (9:00 AM–8:00 PM) and Sunday (11:00 AM–6:00 PM). In the coming days, a traveling truck—or “Roadshow”—will invite the communities of Coimbra to reflect on the importance of sorting the waste generated in their homes.

The “Roadshow’s” sustainable trailer features a quiz testing the public’s knowledge of proper waste separation, 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.

This new phase of APA’s “Let’s separate the waste” campaign draws attention to the time of year when urban waste generation sees its sharpest increase. Between June and September, over 1.8 million tons of urban waste were produced; in August alone, Portugal generated more than 480,000 tons. The summer campaign aims to highlight this peak period for waste generation, as July and August are the most critical months in Portugal, with August recording the highest volume of waste produced.

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

“Contrary to common belief, summer is typically the period of highest waste generation in Portugal. This trend is expected to continue this year. However, it is important to emphasize that waste does not take a break or rest during the summer. With this initiative, we hope to engage communities in a problem that concerns everyone, from the Algarve to the Minho,” notes José Pimenta Machado, President of the APA.

Source

#Awareness #Roadshow

June 28, 2026

Noticias CMTV

The “Let’s separate the waste” campaign can be visited in Aveiro at Marquês de Pombal Square during the last weekend of June. A CMTV report featured an interview with José Pimenta Machado, president of the APA.