The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and the Environment stated today in Ponta Delgada that the Waste Management Strategic Plan of the Azores (PEPGRA) has awarded priority status to the reduction of waste production and the increase of the reuse of waste.

"From the standpoint of waste management, citizens and institutions should be guided, in the first instance, by the need to reduce the production of waste and increase its reuse so that the amount of waste forwarded to disposal or energy recovery is reduced to a minimum percentage," said Luís Neto Viveiros.

Speaking at the end of a hearing at the Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, Labour and Environmental of the Legislative Assembly, Secretary for the Environment stressed that the new legal document reinforces prevention and "demands a joint effort" on the part of several operators, municipal authorities and all entities to comply with European goals.

By 2020, the Azores want to prepare at least 50% of municipal waste for reuse and recycling, including paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal, wood and biodegradable waste.

Asked by journalists, Neto Viveiros welcomed the levels of waste separation and waste for recycling that have been achieved on several islands, following the construction and operation of Waste Processing Centre on six of the seven islands where they are planned. These interventions represent an overall public investment of nearly 40 million Euros.

"We can say that we are among the regions of the country where the waste reuse percentage are higher," the Regional Secretary said, mentioning the islands of Graciosa and Flores, where the Waste Processing Centres have already forwarded 80% of municipal waste for recycling.

PEPGRA is the sectoral plan that was subject to wide public consultation and to the assessment of the Regional Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development. This plan follows the current Plan for the Management of Waste in the Azores and is aimed at the environmental protection of the Region and the promotion of its social and economic development.

The new plan establishes the strategic guidelines for regional policies on the prevention and management of waste.