The regional secretary for Environment and Climate Action of the Azores highlighted the “strategy based on the principles of the circular economy,” in light of data indicating that 82% of urban waste produced in the Azores in 2025 was directed toward valorization.
Cited in a press release, regarding the 2025 Annual Urban Waste Report, prepared by the Regional Directorate for Environment and Climate Action, Alonso Miguel stated that the data now released “confirm the consolidation of a strategy based on the principles of the circular economy and the valorization of resources.”
According to the report, the Azores produced 153,969 tonnes of urban waste, an increase of 0.4% compared with the previous year, “maintaining the trend of stabilization in waste production observed in recent years.”
Alonso Miguel considered that “the region has been consolidating a more efficient and sustainable waste management model, which prioritizes valorization over disposal.”
According to the official, there has been “progressively reducing dependence on landfills and bringing the Azores closer to the best European environmental practices.”
The report reveals that, in 2025, 82% of the urban waste produced was directed toward valorization, namely 28% for material valorization, 29% for organic valorization and 25% for energy valorization.
Landfilling again registered a “significant reduction,” representing 18% of the total urban waste produced, “a value well below the intermediate target of 30% set for 2025 in the Azores Strategic Plan for Waste Prevention and Management (PEPGRA 20+).”
For the head of the Environment portfolio, “this is one of the best indicators of the progress achieved by the region, revealing a historic reduction.”
“We are significantly exceeding the defined objectives and demonstrating that the investments made in waste management infrastructure are producing concrete and measurable results,” the official stated.
The Azorean executive highlighted as relevant to this performance the commissioning of the São Miguel Waste-to-Energy Plant, which, “although not yet operating at full capacity, already plays a decisive role in reducing landfill disposal of waste.”
Alonso Miguel highlighted that also in the domain of selective collection of packaging, “unprecedented results have been achieved, with 21,480 tonnes of packaging waste recovered in 2025, corresponding to an annual per capita rate of 88.9 kilograms per inhabitant,” the value “the highest ever recorded in the Azores and about 9% higher than that recorded in 2024.”
Alonso Miguel also referred that, “regarding preparation for reuse and recycling, the region reached a rate of 49%, improving on the performance recorded in 2024, which stood at 48%, a value substantially higher than the results obtained in the Madeira Autonomous Region and at the national level.”
According to Alonso Miguel, “despite the majority of the islands, including São Miguel, having met the targets defined for 2025, and leading this indicator prominently at the national level, the region’s overall result remains, nevertheless, below the 55% target set by European directives and by the Azores’ PEPGRA 20+.”
