“We don’t want another campaign that merely tells people they need to act differently. It’s crucial to explain how to do it and the impact that individual effort can have on environmental sustainability, promoting a circular economy and valuing much of what we simply discard,” stated the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, during the initiative’s launch.
Waste represents, according to the minister, “one of the greatest challenges” Portugal faces regarding environmental sustainability.
“While we are exemplary in many metrics, in this particular case, we are clearly below the average of countries we compare ourselves to, and even further from the commitments we’ve made to the European Union,” said Maria da Graça Carvalho.
“We send nearly two-thirds of the waste we produce to landfill or incineration without any treatment, with the added problem of producing more waste and approaching the limit of installed landfill capacity,” she emphasized.
Aiming to involve all citizens, the new campaign will be featured in traditional media like television, radio, and newspapers, as well as on social networks and in schools.
The initiative was awarded about 5.3 million euros following a public tender.
