The environmental association Zero revealed today that it had submitted a positive opinion regarding the Ambisousa organic-waste valorisation unit in Paredes, but warned about measures to prevent “illegal” deposition at the landfill.
In a statement released today, Zero made public the opinion it delivered in the public consultation process for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project’s licensing, which it considers to have “environmental merit”, but with caveats.
“Its effectiveness depends on ensuring proper pre-treatment, removal of contaminants and treatment/stabilization of rejects and non-conforming batches, ensuring legal compliance before any forwarding to the landfill,” reads the note.
The issue is the single licensing of a plant in the parish of Parada de Todeia, in that municipality of the Porto district, by the intermunicipal company that proposes a unit that, through biowaste valorisation, produces biomethane and compost, with a capacity to process 25 thousand tonnes per year.
The objective will be to divert biodegradable urban waste that would end up in the landfill, and Zero lays out some requirements for the project’s path, namely the inclusion of bag-opening equipment, the effective separation of inert materials, with quality targets stipulated, the incorporation of sorting of recycled materials, the treatment and stabilization of non-conformers, the fulfilment of the sector’s legal purposes, and the installation of a mechanical-biological treatment unit, or MBT, of “latest generation upstream of Ambisousa’s landfill” to end “the illegal deposition of non-stabilized organic waste.”
In the public consultation report, promoted by the North Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N) and which ran from January 5 to February 13, it can be read that the process received nine submissions in total, one of which from Zero.
The Paredes City Council was another institution that issued a position, and today, asked by Lusa about a public stance on the matter, replied: “Our position is that we have nothing against the construction” of the unit.
Among the submissions in agreement with the installation of the plant, the “principles of the circular economy and the national and European decarbonization targets” are cited as favorable points, such as anaerobic valorisation, with “environmental merit” throughout the project.
On the other hand, the opposing submissions “reveal a vast and consistent set of concerns about the Ambisousa Organic Valuation Unit project”, with the location as a transversal objection, for being near densely populated residential areas and within a territory “of high environmental, tourist and agricultural value.”
“Many interventions underline that the unit is already built without prior licensing, which they consider a serious violation of the principles of Environmental Law and of the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure,” reads the report available on the Participa.pt portal and today consulted by Lusa.
This construction was contested in 2024, when the CCDR-N noted that it occurred without the mandatory prior environmental assessment, thus requiring licensing.
The environmental impact study itself notes that the site preparation, including clearing, demolitions and earthworks, “had already occurred”, with the infrastructuring and building “under way” at the time of the auditor’s work.
In the report, the Commission notes the participations before the issuance of the declaration, and already notes “the need to define additional conditions and mitigation and environmental monitoring measures in light of the identified impacts.”
The environmental impact declaration for this project “should be issued by May 29, 2026”, according to the notice informing the opening of the public consultation process.
