The Regional Secretary for Natural Resources said today that the works of the Santa Maria Waste Processing Centre concludes in 2014 the construction of all these infrastructures planned under the Regional Waste Management System, a public investment of nearly 200 million Euros.

"This work, amounting to 3.7 million Euros, concludes the Azores network of Waste Processing Centres by the first half of next year," said Luís Neto de Viveiros, who spoke to journalists during a visit to the site. The government official added that the Santa Maria Waste Processing Centre will have a capacity to process and adequately recover all the waste produced on this island.

As the archipelago is equipped with "such important infrastructures" to "safeguard environmental issues" and "create better living conditions" for both locals and visitors, we can now start the process of sealing landfills.
Currently, there are 10 landfills/waste disposal sites in the Azores, six of which will be sealed and recovered by the end of 2015.

In the Azores, the Waste Processing Centres on Flores, Graciosa and Corvo are already in operation; the latter also processes recyclable waste.

The works of Pico and São Jorge Waste Processing Centres have been already concluded while the works of Faial and Santa Maria Centres are still in progress.

Based on data released by the Regional Information System on Waste in 2012, 86 percent, that is, more than 137 tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste are disposed of.

The hierarchy of waste management operations is the general principle that guides waste prevention and management policies. The implementation strategy of these policies in the Azores follows this principle. The disposal of waste (landfill) is the last option.

By visiting the construction site of Santa Maria Waste Processing Centre today, the Regional Secretary for the Environment also intended to mark the European Week for Waste Reduction. The Azores have joined this initiative with sixty actions across the archipelago that were voluntarily organised by several public and private entities.