Following years of campaigning against the smoke and noise produced by the factory this was a great achievement for the residents who have at last reached a national audience. ‘The Neighbours of the Factory’ hope this will put more pressure on Amorim who own the factory to find the necessary solution.

On the 8th November, the 13th quarterly meeting was held to follow up and monitor the work to correct environmental anomalies at the Amorim Cork Insulation (ACI) plant in Vale de Lama, Silves. The meeting was held at Silves Town Hall and was attended by Councillor Maxime Sousa Bispo and representatives of CCDR-Algarve, the Pestana group, the ‘Factory Neighbours’ Residents' Committee and Amorim Cork Insulation (ACI).

Elaine Evans, the spokesperson for ‘The Neighbours of the Factory’ told The Portugal News “We were pleased to have the presence and participation of the Vice-President of CCDR-Algarve, Architect José Pacheco, and the new CEO of Amorim Cork Solutions (ACS), Dr João Pedro Azevedo. The new CEO of Amorim Cork Solutions (ACS) explained Corticeira Amorim's recent corporate reorganisation, which involves merging the 3 business units - Cork Composite, Cork Flooring and Cork Insulation - into a single business unit, called Amorim Cork Solutions (ACS), as of January 1st 2025.”

According to ‘The Neighbours of the Factory’, “The meeting was constructive and cooperative, with Dr João Pedro Azevedo revealing that he was fully aware of the current unsustainable situation and that the dates set for the completion of the plans to correct environmental anomalies remained as previously defined in previous meetings. As such, the future Amorim Cork Solutions (ACS) will complete the work to reduce noise levels by the end of 2024, with the aim of complying with the legal limits defined in the General Noise Regulation; in January and February 2025, Amorim Cork Solutions (ACS) will carry out acoustic measurements and tests to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the measures implemented by the end of this calendar year.

On the other hand, with regard to the work to reduce white smoke and smell, it should be noted that the work on phase 1, corresponding to the installation and operation of the pre-filter, has already been completed since the end of June 2023, although without the desired results, which forced phase 2 to be re-started, referring to the design, installation and operation of the final filter (RTO).

Amorim Cork Insulation (ACI) is currently finalising the commercial negotiations for the purchase and construction of the RTO, with the aim that, from 1 July 2025, there will be no more smoke emitted into the atmosphere, nor any smell.

Finally, with regard to the dust and ash that pollute the properties of the neighbouring population, Amorim Cork Insulation (ACI) will make efforts to implement corrective measures, based on studies that are already being carried out and which will involve relevant decision-making at the start of the next calendar year.”

The next monitoring meeting is scheduled for 28 February 2025 at 10:30am and ‘The Neighbours of the Factory’ would like to thank the permanent municipal executive of Silves Town Council for their support and commitment in carrying out this participatory process, which aims to correct the environmental anomalies of the Corticeira Amorim factory in Vale da Lama, Silves, with the consequent reduction in pollution caused by its operation, and to improve the relationship between Amorim Cork Insulation (ACI) and the neighbouring population, contributing to a more integrated and participatory community in resolving matters of public interest in the environmental field.

The interviews and videos were included in the broadcast which went live on Tuesday 12th November and can be watched here.