The Board of Directors, in which national members are represented by Ana Loureiro, on behalf of APESB and with EGF's support, met in Portugal this week and discussed the future of the association and its participation in upcoming global events. ISWA is the voice of the waste and resource management sector in the various strategic discussion forums worldwide, regarding climate change, sustainability or resource management on the planet.

The first day was reserved for a meeting with ERSAR, an initiative that was also attended by elements of APESB. This meeting was an opportunity to share technical knowledge, to discuss innovative and sustainable solutions in urban waste management, with the aim of understanding what the role and strategy of regulation can be to enhance greater efficiency of the managing entities.

Also this week, EGF received a delegation from ISWA's Working Group on Communication, who were in Portugal with the aim of studying and debating the most recent trends in waste management.

Between 22 and 23 May, this working group had the opportunity to meet and make thematic visits. They visited two Valorsul facilities: the Energy Recovery Plant and the Sorting Centre, in Lumiar. They passed by the place where the World Youth Day 2023 will take place, where the entire space is being reconverted for this purpose with strict sustainability criteria; and they got to know the Environmental Education Centre of Loures City Hall, located in the Urban Park of Santa Iria de Azóia, a former landfill and the first one in the country. The visit to the Recycling Line, a service provided by the EGF Group, allowed them to get to know this innovative project of a free, national public service.