Cascais defends €550,000 tender for biowaste collection bags

Cascais Ambiente launched a public tender worth €550,000 to buy green polyethylene bags used in its biowaste separation scheme, covering roughly 1.1 million rolls. The municipal company, EMAC, said it capped the price at €0.50 per roll to shield the service from sharp swings in plastic prices driven by international market conditions. Cascais pioneered biowaste collection in 2018, expanding it municipality-wide in 2023. In 2024 the scheme collected 3,403 tonnes of biowaste, generating an estimated €280,000 saving on municipal waste fees, alongside water and CO2 savings from reduced container washing and collection trips.