LIPOR and its associated municipalities promote public participation in the preparation of PAPERSU 2030

LIPOR, and its Associated Municipalities, promote a questionnaire to the population as part of the preparation of their PAPERSU – ACTION PLANS FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR URBAN WASTE 2030.

Using a questionnaire available on its Portal, the assessment of urban waste in LIPOR's area of influence (Espinho, Gondomar, Maia, Matosinhos, Porto, Póvoa de Varzim, Valongo and Vila do Conde) was evaluated. It was possible to understand the population's general knowledge about recycling objectives and evaluate, from the citizen's point of view, the biggest challenges in waste management, how to reduce waste production, how to increase recycling and environmental awareness, and what are the waste management initiatives that should be widely adopted.

Some of the results obtained were:

• 50% of participants do not know the EU Recycling goals and the targets that Portugal will have to meet in 2030 and 49.1% do not know, in detail, the amount they are currently paying for the waste management service;

• The lack of citizen responsibility for waste is one of the biggest challenges in waste management in the region identified by the participants;

• Reinforcing awareness for changing consumption habits and developing partnerships to fight excessive single-use material and promote ecodesign and sustainable products are the two most voted options for reducing waste production;

• Attribution of benefits to those who recycle and reinforcement of environmental awareness and education are the two most voted options to increase recycling;

• 51% of participants consider that the implementation of a Benefits System according to the amount of recycled waste should be a waste management initiative to be widely adopted.

The European Environmental Goals to which Portugal is subject for the years 2030 and 2035 are very demanding, which will require great changes to the population's consumption habits and routines in the management and valorization of resources. Citizen participation in promoting a more sustainable future is crucial to achieve our goals and contribute to a circular economy.

The Future belongs to Everyone!