Portugal wastes 58kg of food every second, data shows
Portugal wastes around 1.82 million tonnes of food a year, or 58kg every second, according to INE data analysed by Too Good To Go. The platform estimates this costs the country over €10.4 million daily. Households are the biggest contributors, wasting far more than retail or the hospitality sector. Waste volumes rose 12% over five years, reaching an average of 161kg per person annually. The analysis also points to significant water use and CO2 emissions linked to the wasted food, released to mark the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on 29 September.
Faro utility launches mobile recycling centres and home composting
Faro's municipal waste company FAGAR presented three new waste-sorting initiatives under its A.TUA CIDADE programme on National Sustainability Day. About 120 workers from the council, fire brigade, a science centre and the tax office attended sessions on biowaste separation, home composting and new Mobile Ecocentres. The Ecocentros will be shown to the public this weekend at the Faro Ativo event, then from 29 September will rotate through all of the municipality's parishes, collecting items such as small electronics, cork stoppers, batteries and coffee capsules that cannot go in regular bins.
Portimão water utility rolls out recycling kits to schools
EMARP, Portimão's municipal water and waste company, has delivered waste-separation equipment to all schools in the council's five school groupings as the new academic year began, under the project 'A Escola Valoriza'. The scheme, part of its environmental education programme PEPA, provides playground bins, canteen buckets, and recycling kits for pre-school and primary classrooms featuring mascots for plastic, paper, glass and organic waste. Similar equipment went to municipal sports complexes and youth spaces. Training sessions for school support staff are planned next, given their role in keeping the system running.
Portuguese charity launches calculator for unused household items' impact
ENTRAJUDA, with agency Innovagency, has launched an online Environmental Calculator that lets people estimate the environmental cost of unused belongings sitting at home. Users enter items and quantities to see the CO2 emissions, energy and water consumption that could be avoided by reusing rather than discarding them. The campaign highlights that Portugal generates millions of tonnes of urban waste yearly, much of it textiles, furniture and electronics ending up in landfill or mixed waste. ENTRAJUDA president Isabel Jonet says giving people concrete figures can encourage donation instead of disposal. Partners 3drivers Quadrante and Sendys Consulting also support the initiative.
VALORMED tours six shopping centres on medicine disposal
VALORMED is running its Ação EcoMED awareness campaign in six Portuguese shopping centres between 19 September and 25 October, urging people to hand in unused or expired medicines and packaging at collection points in participating pharmacies rather than throwing them in household waste or flushing them. The campaign, starting at Fórum Montijo, uses an interactive experience and a QR-code footprint calculator to show the environmental impact of different disposal choices. Collected waste is sorted at a triage centre: paper, cardboard, plastic and glass are recycled, while remaining material, including leftover medicines, goes to incineration with energy recovery.
Torres Vedras water utility turns old uniforms into reusable bags
The municipal water and sanitation services (SMAS) of Torres Vedras have given a new purpose to worn-out work uniforms by turning them into reusable bags. Working with company TO BE Green, the project began with an internal awareness campaign to collect end-of-life clothing, which was then sorted and processed through upcycling. The initiative aims to demonstrate circular economy principles, showing that textile waste can become a resource rather than simply being discarded, under the slogan promoting continuous separation and a circular future.
Mosqueteiros group recycled 86% of waste in 2025
The Mosqueteiros group, owner of Intermarché, Bricomarché and Roady in Portugal, says it recovered 86% of the waste produced at its logistics bases in 2025, over 1,700 tonnes. Storage batteries installed at stores raised energy self-consumption coverage from 20% to about 50%. The group also cut consumable use by 34% and reduced delivery-vehicle kilometres per unit transported by 3.1%. Solar panels now supply 28% of distribution platform energy, with new photovoltaic capacity added at Paços de Ferreira and Alcanena, plus LED lighting and refrigeration upgrades across its network of over 355 stores.
E-commerce executive argues online retail can cut waste
In an opinion piece, Rúben Lamy, founder and CEO of BIGhub, argues that e-commerce, despite concerns over packaging and delivery emissions, can support sustainability through better stock management, integrated logistics and the resale of returned goods. He cites DHL's '2026 E-commerce Trends Report', which found 45% of consumers buy refurbished or second-hand products for sustainability reasons, with a further 15% planning to start. The same report found 42% expect sustainable logistics to become standard within five years. Lamy concludes that technology linking stock, demand, logistics and returns is key to more efficient, less wasteful online retail.
Coruche calls for volunteers to clean up River Sorraia
Águas do Ribatejo and Coruche Municipality are organising a public clean-up of the River Sorraia on Saturday, 10 October, from 10am to 1pm. The action forms part of the TRAP project, which aims to bring together citizens, schools, associations and local bodies to reduce plastic pollution in rivers. Organisers aim to collect plastic waste along stretches of the river near Coruche, raise awareness of the impacts of aquatic plastic pollution, and lay the groundwork for a citizen science strand and a future 'River Guardians' scheme. The council is providing logistical support, including vans and transport, and registration is open to institutions, schools, families and individuals.
Braga's Greenfest opens for three days on Central Avenue
Braga's Avenida Central is hosting the eighth edition of Greenfest, a three-day festival promoting environmental awareness and the circular economy. The event opened with the presence of deputy mayor Altino Bessa, festival founder Pedro Norton de Matos, and representatives of municipal companies and partner organisations including Agere, BragaHabit, TUB, Braval, Quinta Pedagógica and Cerci Braga. The first day was aimed at schools, while the remaining two are open to the general public and families, with the goal of engaging citizens not yet committed to sustainable practices such as recycling and reuse. Bessa stressed that institutions alone cannot meet sustainability targets without individual commitment.
