The awareness-raising initiative takes the form of a traveling “roadshow” that will visit six districts across the country over the course of 18 days: Coimbra, Aveiro, Braga, Castelo Branco, \u00c9vora, and Portim\u00e3o. The initiative runs from June 19 to July 26, with activities scheduled for Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The truck features a waste-sorting quiz, a sustainable consumption simulator, workshops using recycled materials, and an “mural of excuses” designed to gather the most common reasons people give for not recycling. The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) marked the start of summer by highlighting the rise in urban waste generation in Portugal during this season. According to released data, over 1.8 million tons of urban waste were produced in the country between June and September 2025. August saw the highest volume, exceeding 480,000 tons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In light of these figures, the APA launched a new phase of the “Let\u2019s separate the waste” campaign, aiming to raise awareness about the need for proper waste sorting during the holiday season. The agency emphasizes that July and August represent the most critical time of year for waste generation, countering the common perception that consumption drops during this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jos\u00e9 Pimenta Machado, APA’s president, noted that “summer is consistently the period of highest waste generation in Portugal” and that “trash doesn’t take a break or rest during the summer.” He added that this trend is expected to continue this year, making it important to engage communities “in a problem that belongs to everyone, from the Algarve to the Minho.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The awareness-raising initiative takes the form of a traveling “roadshow” that will visit six districts across the country over the course of 18 days: Coimbra, Aveiro, Braga, Castelo Branco, \u00c9vora, and Portim\u00e3o. The initiative runs from June 19 to July 26, with activities taking place on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The truck features a waste-sorting quiz, a sustainable consumption simulator, workshops using recycled materials, and an \u201cmural of excuses\u201d that collects the most common reasons people give for not recycling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The APA, as the entity responsible for implementing environmental policies in Portugal, highlights the urgent need to maintain proper waste separation during the summer to ensure correct routing for recycling and to reduce environmental impact. The \u201cLet\u2019s separate the waste\u201d campaign will remain active until the end of 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n