MAY 05, 2019

ALGAR, EGF's concessionaire in the Algarve region, has reinforced its selective collection activity and has already implemented preventive measures to reinforce it for the summer, when the region considerably increases its population and, consequently, the production of waste.

 

This reinforcement has already been felt during the Easter period, a period that registered a high tourist influx to the region, especially during the school holidays, since the population almost triples the total of residents in those periods.

 

The objective is to respond effectively to the high production of packaging that is expected, in order to improve the quality of the service made available to the population.

 

Preventive measures implemented

In order to face the high growth of packaging waste in its facilities, distributed throughout the region, ALGAR is mobilizing human resources and equipment for the activities of Selective Collection and Sorting, namely:

 

  • Recruitment of temporary labor to reinforce the Activity of Selective Collection, 11 drivers and 30 auxiliaries. With this reinforcement it is intended to reach the 60 teams;
  • Acquisition of 7 new vehicles for the Selective Collection of ecopoints, which allowed a 32% increase in fleet capacity;
  • Recruitment of temporary labor to support the Sorting Activity: 24 operators;
  • Hiring of team leader for the Sotovento Sorting Unit;
  • Between May and October, reinforcement in the collection of ecopoints and its surroundings, using external service providers;
  • Increased number of ecopoints in 2019, with the installation of more than 350 new equipment. Soon, more than 3900 ecopoints will be available throughout the Algarve region (12,800 containers). The objective is to guarantee the ratio of one ecoponto per 126 inhabitants.
     

It should be noted that in addition to the ecopoints distributed by the 16 municipalities, 13 Ecocentros are available for the entire population, with capacity to receive large quantities of recyclable and larger packaging waste (three in Loulé, two in Albufeira and Portimão , one in Alcoutim, Aljezur, Castro Marim, Lagos, Tavira and Vila do Bispo).

 

The company also invests in the selective collection of waste from commerce and services, through its "Algarlinha" project (information 800 203 251), through the contracting of external operational support, which included collection teams and vehicles. This service provision covers the collection directly in the participating commercial establishments and the collection of envelopes in the ecopoints.

 

In partnership with municipalities for a more sustainable Algarve

ALGAR counts on the collaboration of the Municipalities to control and supervise the incorrect disposal of waste in the ecopoints, as well as to sensitize the population in the fulfillment of good practices, essential to the activity of selective collection, namely, to warn, to prevent parking with the ecopoints which makes it impossible to collect them by ALGAR vehicles, with consequent environmental problems.

 

This partnership has as main objective to improve the articulation between the entities of the region and ALGAR in the resolution of some operational constraints that arise, mainly in periods of greater population concentration in the Algarve. In this way, common methodologies can be defined in both urban cleaning and waste collection, through concerted efforts, optimization of resources and integration of contributions.

  

Open doors policy

ALGAR believes in a policy of open doors and is therefore available to receive regular visits from the population to its Sorting Units, where it is possible to closely observe the reception, handling and all the processing work of the waste that is collected in the ecopoints.

 

The visits are guided and give an opportunity to know the work that is done in the line of sorting with the separation of the high quantity of recyclable materials by row. The flow of the yellow (plastic and metal) container is separated into the different typologies: PET, HDPE, Film, EPS (Styrofoam), Mixed Plastics, ECAL (Cardboard Packaging for Liquid Foods), Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals. With regard to the flow of the blue container (paper and carton) received, one can observe the separation of contaminants such as grease and other dirty papers, followed by their preparation for baling. As for the material from the green container (glass), it is possible to observe its sorting, in an independent line, where the plastic bags and other undifferentiated waste are incorrectly mixed with these packages.

 

At the end of the activity, the visitor checks that the different materials, after being collected in the ecopoints, by flow, are sent to the sorting units, where they are better sorted, baled (with the exception of glass), packed and consigned to the recycling industry.

 

More information at: www.algar.com.pt