“We are in a sector with a genuine national emergency, we are aware of the scarcity of funds available in national and community programs, but it is essential that today, subsidy and loan programs, for example from the European Investment Bank, can benefit the sector so that it does not take Portugal back to the era of landfills”, declared Fernando Leite, during his hearing at the Environment and Energy Committee.

The managing director of the Association of Municipalities for Sustainable Waste Management of Greater Porto considers that the 475 million euros foreseen in the Strategic Plan for Urban Waste (PERSU) 2030 “are clearly insufficient for investments in the low-income sector, in this case, municipal councils, and in the high-income sector, in waste management and treatment systems”, as, he stressed, was recently recognised by the Minister for Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro de Almeida, who estimated the necessary investments at 3.7 billion euros.

In the committee, in a speech where he addressed the main constraints of waste management entities in Portugal, Fernando Leite argued that it is urgent to promote “a reinterpretation of PERSU, providing opportunities and conditions for municipalities to be more active”, and considered it urgent to “debureaucratise, facilitate and promote synergies between municipalities and high-level management systems, that is, the relationship between those who collect and those who value and treat”, as well as promoting the sharing of infrastructures.

For the administrator, in European terms, Portugal is in a critical situation, so it is essential to reverse “the confinement in landfill”, otherwise “very soon”, the country “will not have infrastructures available for the treatment and recovery of waste in some regions, specifically in the North and the Algarve, leaving the export of this waste at high costs”.

Fernando Leite also criticised the position taken by Sociedade Ponto Verde, which challenged in court the Government's ruling that updates the compensation amounts paid to local authorities and waste management systems for the work of transporting and recycling packaging, appealing to the solidarity of MPs to ensure a fair value.

According to data provided to Lusa, in seven years, LIPOR stopped receiving around 50 million euros, which were owed to it, “degrading the company's treasury” which in 2023 totaled, JN reported on Monday, losses worth 2.9 million euros.

“We regret and consider this persistent position of Sociedade Ponto Verde regarding the settlement of the fair value of the consideration for recycling materials to be completely unfounded,” he declared to the Environment and Energy Committee.

To the deputies, the director also revealed that “the overall result of LIPOR's entry into the free electricity market resulted in a loss of 50% of its revenues, which caused it to enter “a very fragile regime in its financial situation”.