Azores take part in Horizon 2020 project amounting to 4.3 million Euros

The Government of the Azores, through the Regional Fund for Science and Technology, takes part in a European consortium under the project "UrBAN-WASTE: Urban strategies for Waste Management in Tourist Cities," amounting to 4.3 million Euros, which has now been approved for funding by the European Commission.

This project, which will run for 36 months, intends to help policy makers in more than a dozen European cities to effectively respond to the challenges caused by the production of municipal waste and by the high and unsustainable levels of resource consumption.

The President of the Regional Fund for Science and Technology stated that the news was received "with great enthusiasm," pointing out that this is "another opportunity to take part in these European consortia on a regular basis, enhancing our visibility as credible partners."

According to Nelson Simões, "we are seeing the results of the investment the Government of the Azores made in the creation of an expert team with the mission to raise new funds for Science and Technology in the Region and, thus, diversify the available sources of financing."

The consortium consists of 28 partners from 13 Member States. Portugal is represented by the Regional Fund for Science and Technology and the Lisbon City Hall.
In this project, the consortium is committed to developing municipal waste reduction strategies, increasing incentives to its reuse, promoting recycling, and encouraging waste collection and disposal in European tourist cities.

Under the implementation of this project, it is expected that other entities of the Azores Scientific and Technological System will be subcontracted to develop specific tasks, according to the Research and Development processes provided in the application.

According to Nelson Simões, "the Regional Fund for Science and Technology is already preparing the submission of new applications for 2016, either as partner or as coordinator, in an ambitious work plan that aims to consolidate the participation of Azorean entities in this type of projects."