ACR+ joined the Recycle More Pay Less conference in Maia Municipality

The Portuguese municipality of Maia organised a conference together with ACR+ member LIPOR to discuss pay-as-you-throw as an instrument to address the current challenge of waste management in Portugal and reach the ambitious targets. Maiambiente, the municipal waste company, has started the implementation of PAYT in 2022, and its extension is ongoing in 2023, with already impressive results. Different presentations detailed the new collection system, along with the customer service or the information system developed to optimise waste collection. ACR+ provided an overview of PAYT in Europe and insisted on its effectiveness, but also on the necessity to introduce it in a collection system that is well explained and convenient to inhabitants, and on the need for a proper national framework making ambitious collection system financially sustainable for municipalities. Various round tables brought together local and national stakeholders, for instance on the future of waste management in Portugal.