Evolution of Packaging material sent to Recycling ... - ATIA-ISWA Italia

Evolution of Packaging material sent to Recycling in Algarve’s Area
Idalécia Rodrigues (1)
Summary
______________________________________________________________
Since 1998 the collection, sort and routing the packaging wastes, produced in
The Algarve’s area is managed by ALGAR, entity responsible for Solid Waste
Management System.
In the last ten years, ALGAR has developed several awareness campaigns to
change the resident and non resident population behaviour, aiming for the
correct deposit of recyclable materials in the ecopoints. These campaigns have
been much diversified along the years. Here we can highlight the beach
campaigns, several competitions, visits from students to the facilities, and more
specialized raising awareness actions. The creation of an Educational
Environment Centre and the existence of an Educational Environment Vehicle
that goes trough the several schools of the 16 counties of Algarve, have
contributed to the change of actions of school population, encouraging them to
develop a more correct environmental behaviour.
The increase of ecopoints available for the population, with the initial goal of 1
per 500 inhabitants back in 1998, to today’s goal of 1 per 200 inhabitants, has
well as the Environmental awareness raising campaigns, have generated an
increasing in quantities of waste sent to recycling by Sociedade Ponto Verde
(Green Point Society). The values of this growth are 571% between 1999 and
2008, which represents 3,442 tones in 1999 and 23,079 tones in 2008 (Chart
1).
(1) Pós-graduação em Gestão Ambiental, Coordenadora de Gestão de Informação da ALGAR, Rua Cândido
Guerreiro nº 43, 3º dto, 8000-318 Faro- Portugal, +351289894480
Idalecia.rodrigues@algar.com.pt

Evolution of Packaging sent to Recycking (tones)
Material/Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Total
Glass 2993.350 3904.640 5203.380 5401.380 6605.480 6930.760 7902.660 8978.928 10620.540 12965.740
Paper/Card 339.090 622.230 1138.060 1157.590 1581.190 2668.030 3560.670 4096.206 5581.010 7194.810
Plastic 90.420 246.080 313.220 343.260 481.920 748.345 924.930 1270.570 1328.884 1843.985
Metal 18.740 26.180 41.960 69.780 83.620 124.160 179.740 214.600 183.060 356.480
Wood
71506.86
27938.89
7591.61
1298.32
0.000 0.000 10.820 148.660 262.240 180.320 292.540 420.840 646.440 718.440 2680.30
Total 3441.600 4799.130 6707.440 7120.670 9014.450 10651.615 12860.540 14981.144 18359.934 23079.455 111015.978
Chart 1 – Evolution of Packaging sent do Recycling (tones)
The contribution of the Algarve’s population on the correct deposit of recycling
materials in the ecopoints helped in stabilizing the rate on scrap from the
materials collected, decreasing the costs of collect and sort, essential to this
complex process.
Regarding the area of new technologies, ALGAR has internally developed a
specific software to analyse and register the information from the selective
collect – SAGIR, with the purpose of optimize the collecting system, improving
the time to react on collecting of several containers, decreasing the collecting
costs and the number of equipment in the limit of their fill in capacity, which
promotes the use by the population.

According to information published by Sociedade Ponto Verde, in the last tree
years ALGAR is the SMAUT – Sistemas Municipais e Autarquias (Municipal
Systems and Counties) that contributes more in what concerns the recapture
per capita to increase recycling in Portugal (considering the continent).
In conclusion, ALGAR, along with the population of Algarve, promotes the
sustainable development of the region, encouraging appropriate environmental
behaviours.
1 - Introduction
During several decades the packaging has suffered transformations according
to the evolution of civilizations, related to the needs and interests of the
consumers, the markets’ competition, economic crises, the changes of food
behaviours and life styles, as well as scientific and technological discoveries
(Martinho et. al, 2007).
Nowadays the packaging may be composed by several materials, and have
many shapes and models, becoming essential in the daily life of a person or in
the activity of a company.
The difficult biodegradation of some materials that compose the packaging, and
their increasing quantities, are becoming an environmental problem. In a way of
trying to minimize the environmental impact of packaging, many producers are
matching the functions of protection and promotion of the products with
environmental measures.
The role of the consumers is as much, or even more important, than the
companies, regarding the environmental problems of packaging, since their
attitudes and behaviour have a crucial role in reducing the environmental impact
on packaging. The awareness of consumers for the use of recycled, recyclable
and biodegradable products and their deposit on selective collection systems
are some of the campaigns of several organizations, including Algar.
The Algar, Valorização e Tratamento de Resíduos Sólidos, S.A., was created in
May, 20th 1995, by the Decreto-Lei n.º 109/95, which determines the creation of
a multidistrict system, meant to the Development, Conception, Construction and
Exploring of a process of selective collection, sorting and treatment of solid
urban waste of the Algarve.

2 – Development
In the Algarve, the strategy of waste management included the creation of a
multidistrict system, which involves the 16 districts; the EGF and the IPE, which
resulted in the creation of ALGAR – Valorização e Tratamento de Resíduos
Sólidos S.A.
Algar’s priorities were:
Eradication of the 22 dumpsters of the area and their environmental
requalification;
Development of infrastructures for treatment and final depositing;
Implementation of integrated system of selective collection and recovery
of waste;
Dynamization of awareness and education environment campaigns;
2.1 – Environment Education
Algar has promoted several activities in the environmental education area with
the purpose of encourage environmentally sound practices in the resident
population as well as visitors, in its place of action.
The correct deposit of packaging in the recycling bin is the main theme in the
awareness-raising sponsored by Algar. These activities are directed to Schools,
Public Institutions, Hotels, Teaching Centres and Companies that intend to
clarify and promote their workers in the environmentally-sound practices.
The awareness-raising campaigns developed by Algar regarding the selective
collection of packaging have been much diversified along the years. Among
those, we can highlight:
the beach campaigns;
several competitions (Competition of Mascot, Yellow alert, Mask
competition, Photograph competition – Environmental shock (Picture 1)
among others.

Picture 1 – Delivery of Certificate of Environmental Shock Competition
Annually, Algar receives in its facilities thousands of visitors. The main goal of
these guide trips are to show in loco the different treatment processes used to
recycle the wastes in the Algarve.
The creation of the Environment Educational Centre in Albufeira, turned to the
sensibilization of the young people regarding the environment issues, like the
importance of separation and recycling of packaging. It is through the eco-play
and eco-learn that Algar develops the activities dedicated to the children, using
the playing sense, connected to the ability of learning good environment
actions.
In the Environment Educational Centre there is a permanent exhibition that
includes multimedia games about waste, a playground with several games,
several ateliers on recycling and re-using materials, as well as several other
activities of environmental education (Pictures 2, 3 e 4).
Picture 2 - Educational games at the Environment Educational Centre in Albufeira

Picture 3 – Mural of the permanent exhibition at the Environment educational Centre in
Albufeira
Picture 4 – Reuse and recycling paper packaging atelier
Algar has an Educational Environment Vehicle that goes through the 16
counties of the Algarve, promoting good environmental practices. It is a semitrailer
equipped with interactive multimedia material, focused on the young
population, visiting schools, institutions and events (Pictures 5 and 6).
Picture 5 – Exterior of the Educational Environment Vehicle

Picture 6 – Interior of the Educational Environment Vehicle
2.2 – Localization of the Infrastructures
Algar created several infrastructures for the recycling and treatment of urban
solid waste:
2 Sanitary Landfill;
8 Transfer Stations;
2 Stations of Screening;
2 Composting Stations;
13 Ecocentre;
1 Environment educational Centre;
The creation of these infrastructures spread over the Algarve has promoted the
mobilization of the population to deposit materials in the waste managing
system (Pictures 7).

Picture 7 – Map with the localization of the Infrastructures for the Treatment and Recycling of
Urban Solid Waste of the Algarve.
Algar has increased dramatically the number of recycling containers available to
the population comparing to the initial goal back in 1988, with a ratio of 1
ecopoint per 500 inhabitants. Today’s reality is of 1 ecopoint per 200
inhabitants. The decrease of distance between consumers and ecopoints is an
encouragement for its use, increasing the quantity of packaging collected.
2.3 - Collection and sorting of packaging
The packaging placed in ecopoints by the population is collected by Algar and
sent to the Sorting Station. Here, the packaging is separated within types, and
the non useful material, badly placed and refereed as scrap, is eliminated.
Then, according to SIGRE - Sistema Integrado de Gestão de Resíduos de
Embalagem, Algar forwards the waste for recycling though the SPV –
Sociedade Ponto Verde, which is the entity at a national level for the recovery
and recycling of packaging waste.
Progressively Algar as raised the quantities of packaging forwarded to recycling
trough SPV. The increase registered between 1999 and 2008 is quite high, so,

in the year of 1999 were forwarded 3,442 tones and in 2008 this value raises to
23,079 tones (Chart 1).
Evolution of Packaging sent to Recycking (tones)
Material/Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Total
Glass 2993.350 3904.640 5203.380 5401.380 6605.480 6930.760 7902.660 8978.928 10620.540 12965.740
71506.86
Paper/Card 339.090 622.230 1138.060 1157.590 1581.190 2668.030 3560.670 4096.206 5581.010 7194.810
27938.89
Plastic 90.420 246.080 313.220 343.260 481.920 748.345 924.930 1270.570 1328.884 1843.985
7591.61
Metal 18.740 26.180 41.960 69.780 83.620 124.160 179.740 214.600 183.060 356.480
1298.32
Wood
0.000 0.000 10.820 148.660 262.240 180.320 292.540 420.840 646.440 718.440 2680.30
Total 3441.600 4799.130 6707.440 7120.670 9014.450 10651.615 12860.540 14981.144 18359.934 23079.455 111015.978
Chart 1 – Evolution of Packaging sent do Recycling (tones)
The contribution of the Algarve’s population on the correct deposit of recycling
materials in the ecopoints helped in stabilizing the rate on scrap from the
materials collected (Chart 2), decreasing the costs of collection and sorting,
essential to this complex process.

Annual Evolution of the Percentage of Scrap on Sorting Packaging
% of Scra
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Paper/Card 2,28 1,93 2,75 5,65 4,43 4,12 4,13 3,48
Plastic and Metal 25,27 33,41 37,17 34,96 38,67 36,34 43,57 34,22
Glass 0 0 0 0 0 2,29 2,47 1,54
Year
Chart 2 – Annual Evolution of the Percentage of Scrap on Sorting Packaging
With the goal of optimizing the existing collection system, minimizing the time of
response on collecting the several material containers and decreasing
economic costs related to selective collection, Algar developed specific software
for the analyses and registration of information regarding collection - SAGIR.
The establishing of SAGIR, promoted an improvement of the service, since it
allows the adequate management of human resources and materials available,
reducing the number of equipments of selective collection in their limit filling
capacity, promoting again, the use of these containers by the population,
increasing the quantity of packaging deposited.
3 – Conclusion
The socio-economic development and the changes on life habits of the
population explain the progressive increase on use of packaging in the daily life,
implicating an increase of the waste.
Over times, Algar as developed and contributed with diverse actions that helped
for the awareness on population regarding the adoption of environmentally
sound behaviour.

The increase of quantities of packaging collected and forwarded for recycling is
one of the visible and immediate effects of this change on behaviour of the
population.
According to information published by Sociedade Ponto Verde, in the last three
years ALGAR is the SMAUT – Sistemas Municipais e Autarquias (Municipal
Systems and Counties) that contributes more in what concerns the recapture
per capita to increase recycling in Portugal (considering the continent).
In conclusion, ALGAR, along with the population of Algarve, promotes the
sustainable development of the region, encouraging appropriate environmental
behaviours.
4 – Bibliografia
MARTINHO, M.G.; Rodrigues, S.A. (2007) – Historia da Produção e
Reciclagem das Embalagens em Portugal, Novembro de 2007.