During the three days of Novo Verde’s carnival campaign in Torres Vedras, more than 6.500 packaging units were collected for recycling, of which approximately 65% were plastic/metal, 34.32% paper/cardboard and less than 1% glass. This packaging was part of the more than 13 tons of material that received a new life and did not end up in the landfill, thanks to the collection campaign of the municipalities of Torres Vedras, Valorsul and Novo Verde.
All recyclables (plastics, metals, glass, paper and cardboard) collected separately during the event were transported to Valorsul’s sorting centre in Cadaval, where they were prepared for acceptance by the individual recycling centres, to which they were delivered.
Filipa Moita, Novo Verde’s Communications Manager, underlines that this action was a success: “We succeeded in passing on our message and motivating sustainable behaviour. All this was in good humour and harmony with the joyful atmosphere in Torres Vedras. As “the human recycling bins” were used by the public, the goal got achieved: collecting waste for recycling and in this way, avoiding littering!”.
For three days, 15 human recycling bins embodied Portuguese personalities to live up to the theme of the Torres Vedras Carnival – “Made in Portugal”. From Fernando Pessoa to Amália, through more current names such as Emplastro, Toy or Cristina Ferreira, the human garbage cans paraded through the grounds to join forces with the Torres Vedras City Council to make the “Carnival of the Portuguese” the “greenest” in the country. According to the slogan “It’s Carnival, there’s no bad recycling”, the group encouraged celebrants to behave in an environmentally friendly.
This initiative joined a series of educational and environmental awareness activities carried out by Novo Verde in partnership with the Intermunicipal Community West as part of the Circular Economy Program West.