INTERREG Project

ERP Portugal integrates transnational project for WEEE management

ERP Portugal is part of the project "Sustainable Transboundary Strategy for the Management of Electrical and Electronic Waste", which arises from the efficiency of the use of natural resources and the development of the green economy, which is part of the INTERREG Program.

This project brings together synergies between entities such as Diputación de la Provincia de Pontevedra, EnergyLab, ERP Portugal and ERP Spain, Lipor - Inter-municipal Service for Waste Management of Oporto Region - and Revertia Reusing and Recycling, and will be implemented in Pontevedra and Oporto municipalities where we can find ecocenters.

The main objective of this project is to improve the cross-border management of WEEE (Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment) by promoting innovative technologies for environmental protection and resource efficiency. To this end, existing facilities will be upgraded and adapted to meet current legal requirements.

Likewise, a process will be defined for the reuse of waste from large appliances (namely washing machines and dishwashers), and computer and telecommunications equipment (tablets and smartphones).

The objectives to be achieved with this project are: to improve the collection and municipal management of waste from large appliances and computer and telecommunications equipment; to characterize and compare the environmental impacts of the different processes in the management of targeted waste; to demonstrate that through the prevention, preparation for reuse and proper unbundling of waste management, problems associated with this specific waste stream can be solved; to strengthen the existing WEEE collection networks, stimulating synergies between the northern regions of Portugal and Galicia; to define target reuse guidelines and adapt them to the management of other WEEE; to promote new regulatory standards for the reuse of WEEE; to create "green jobs"; to alert and make citizens aware of the need for proper management of this waste; efficiently use resources through recycling and other forms of WEEE recovery.

It is hoped that this project will result in the adaptation of 18 municipal ecocenters located in the transboundary space, revision of the legislation applicable to the WEEE management, implementation of a stock exchange of resources and raw and secondary materials and consequent sensitization of producers and manufacturers for a new strategy waste management, where the reuse of the waste involved is privileged.