Photos | Not in our backyard: Portuguese villagers raise a stink over trash landfill

In Portugal, an open-air landfill where large amounts of trash from all over Europe are dumped has taken a toll on the villagers living nearby. The landfill receives trash from across Portugal and is also one of 11 private sites in the country allowed to handle foreign trash. Some 330,000 tonnes of amber list trash, which includes waste containing hazardous substances and needs prior approval, has arrived in Portugal from abroad in 2018, a 53% increase from the year before. Facing the pressure from residents, the Portuguese government has ordered APA this month to make it harder for waste shipments to be allowed into Portugal.

Updated on: Jan 16, 2020 4:32 PM IST

News

Share via

• 
• 
• 
• 

Copy link

• 

1/6

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Jan 16, 2020 4:32 PM

Trucks with garbage are seen at the Recivalongo landfill in Sobrado, Portugal. The landfill receives trash from across Portugal but is also one of 11 private sites in the country allowed to handle foreign trash, environment agency APA said. And the amounts are increasing as European countries have had to look for other ways to dispose of their rubbish after China introduced strict limits two years ago on the amount of foreign waste it will import. (Rafael Marchante / REUTERS)

2/6

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Jan 16, 2020 4:32 PM

Imported waste is seen piled at the port of Leixoes in Matosinhos Portugal. Some 330,000 tonnes of “amber list” trash, which includes waste containing hazardous substances and needs prior approval, arrived in Portugal from abroad in 2018, a 53% increase from the year before, APA said. Around a third of this trash ended up in landfills, and locals in Sobrado say the situation is getting worse. (Rafael Marchante / REUTERS)

3/6

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Jan 16, 2020 4:32 PM

Conceicao Gaspar looks out from her house on a lush green landscape but the Portuguese pensioner cannot enjoy the view because she knows the trees conceal an open-air landfill where large amounts of trash from all over Europe are dumped. “It’s impossible to live here now,” said the visibly upset 69-year-old, who has lived all her life in the small hill village of Sobrado in northern Portugal, but is increasingly struggling with the stench drifting over from the landfill. (Rafael Marchante / REUTERS)

4/6

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Jan 16, 2020 4:32 PM

Last year, residents launched an environmental group ‘Jornada Principal’, which organises protests and petitions, and it plans to file a lawsuit against Portugal’s environment ministry. “We felt hurt when our quality of life was taken away from us, the right to breathe clean air,” said Marisol Marques, a group member. “We want the landfill to shut down.” (Rafael Marchante / REUTERS)

5/6

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Jan 16, 2020 4:32 PM

In a letter sent to the environment ministry last month, Ribeiro said he believes Portugal became an attractive destination for trash due to its low waste management fee for landfills, which was set at €9.90 per tonne in 2019, compared to a European average of €80. “The country has to think whether it wants this type of business, whether it wants to be seen as Europe’s rubbish dump,” Jose Ribeiro, mayor of Valongo, told Reuters. (Rafael Marchante / REUTERS)

6/6

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Jan 16, 2020 4:32 PM

A general view of Recivalongo landfill in Sobrado Portugal. “The fear is that in a few years we won’t have a solution for our own waste problem because we filled our landfills with trash from abroad,” said Carmen Lima from Quercus, an environmental group. (Rafael Marchante / REUTERS)