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Industrial ecology’s systemic approach to waste management extends the analysis beyond the waste and its collection and treatment processes and includes the
production and use phase of the products that are transformed into waste at the end
of their life. Outcomes of this approach include the Industrial Symbiosis concept, in
which waste fl ows from one industry are used as resource inputs for another, and
loop-closing, which emphasizes the reintroduction of used material and energy
resources at the production phase in order to reduce extraction and extend the lifetime of stocks.
This chapter is organized in four sections, including this introduction. The next
section provides a historic perspective of the Portuguese waste management policies and highlights key developments in terms of Industrial Ecology principles.
Section 3 is focused on the most recent municipal solid waste management plan
recently developed in Portugal, and Sect. 4 quantifi es its impact assessment making
use of different industrial ecology tools.
2 Portuguese Waste Management Policy 1990–2014:
The Contribution of Industrial Ecology
Modern Portuguese waste management policies date from the 1990s, when urban
waste was fi rst considered to be a priority for the national environmental policies. In
this context, in 1996, the fi rst national municipal solid waste (MSW) management
plan (PERSU) was approved for the period 1997–2007. Its main goals were focused
on banning waste dumping in inadequate sites, which represented 73 % of the destination of the MSW generated in Portugal, and structuring a set of regional entities
that would be responsible for local waste management and would have access to
funding for new infrastructures.
In 2006, the revision of the PERSU was launched; it resulted in a new strategy,
PERSU II (2007–2016), and provided additional funding for installing a set of new
infrastructures that the regional management systems considered necessary to fulfi ll
the national waste management targets, as derived from EU directives, in terms of
separating the different waste streams during waste collection, avoiding deposition
in landfi ll and promoting the valorization of the waste collected, particularly wastes
from packaging and those which are biodegradable.
In parallel, industrial ecology principles emanating from academia, with major
involvement of the authors at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) – University of
Lisbon, were fundamental to establish common development strategies shared by
governmental, private and regional institutions, and to create mechanisms to foster
the closing of material cycles through integrated management systems for end of
life (EOL) products and industrial symbiosis in eco-parks.
The industrial ecology academic contributions to reshape the Portuguese waste
management activities were particularly relevant in the design of the systems that
managed the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) of different products such as
14 Industrial Ecology and Portugal’s National Waste Plans
Industrial ecology’s systemic approach to waste management extends the analysis beyond the waste and its collection and treatment processes and includes the
production and use phase of the products that are transformed into waste at the end
of their life. Outcomes of this approach include the Industrial Symbiosis concept, in
which waste fl ows from one industry are used as resource inputs for another, and
loop-closing, which emphasizes the reintroduction of used material and energy
resources at the production phase in order to reduce extraction and extend the lifetime of stocks.
This chapter is organized in four sections, including this introduction. The next
section provides a historic perspective of the Portuguese waste management policies and highlights key developments in terms of Industrial Ecology principles.
Section 3 is focused on the most recent municipal solid waste management plan
recently developed in Portugal, and Sect. 4 quantifi es its impact assessment making
use of different industrial ecology tools.
2 Portuguese Waste Management Policy 1990–2014:
The Contribution of Industrial Ecology
Modern Portuguese waste management policies date from the 1990s, when urban
waste was fi rst considered to be a priority for the national environmental policies. In
this context, in 1996, the fi rst national municipal solid waste (MSW) management
plan (PERSU) was approved for the period 1997–2007. Its main goals were focused
on banning waste dumping in inadequate sites, which represented 73 % of the destination of the MSW generated in Portugal, and structuring a set of regional entities
that would be responsible for local waste management and would have access to
funding for new infrastructures.
In 2006, the revision of the PERSU was launched; it resulted in a new strategy,
PERSU II (2007–2016), and provided additional funding for installing a set of new
infrastructures that the regional management systems considered necessary to fulfi ll
the national waste management targets, as derived from EU directives, in terms of
separating the different waste streams during waste collection, avoiding deposition
in landfi ll and promoting the valorization of the waste collected, particularly wastes
from packaging and those which are biodegradable.
In parallel, industrial ecology principles emanating from academia, with major
involvement of the authors at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) – University of
Lisbon, were fundamental to establish common development strategies shared by
governmental, private and regional institutions, and to create mechanisms to foster
the closing of material cycles through integrated management systems for end of
life (EOL) products and industrial symbiosis in eco-parks.
The industrial ecology academic contributions to reshape the Portuguese waste
management activities were particularly relevant in the design of the systems that
managed the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) of different products such as
14 Industrial Ecology and Portugal’s National Waste Plans