Funchal reminds residents that composting is another way to recycle

The local authorities are proactive in fostering a new mindset about waste

The Municipality of Funchal (on the island of Madeira) has initiated an awareness-raising campaign called “Composting – Another Way to Recycle” as a way to foster broader mindsets among local residents on the issue of circularity. As part of the campaign, it delivered ten composter bins to the São Gonçalo district earlier this week.

The idea is to continue with this approach and expand it to the other districts (locally known as parishes) of the Madeiran capital.

More composting means less incineration

On the occasion, local councillor Nádia Coelho thanked “the collaboration of the São Gonçalo Parish Council”, stressing the importance of “Funchal’s strategy in reducing waste production”, adding that “40% of the garbage we produce daily can be recyclable”. The campaign, in which the municipality delivers 300-litre composters and 7-litre containers to support the composters for free, is thus “an opportunity to give a new life" to waste, reducing what actually goes to the landfill.

On 19 April, the day when the councillor spoke, delivery also took place at the parish of São Martinho, where ten more composters were delivered.

The councillor, who is responsible for environmental issues, explained that the municipal strategy also involved larger “community composters”, giving an example of the Quinta Falcão district, something that the municipality will extend to other municipal districts.

It should be noted that, in this campaign, the Municipality of Funchal has already delivered around 3,900 composters.

The execution of this project makes it possible, on the one hand, to reduce the fraction of undifferentiated waste present in urban solid waste and which has incineration as its final destination. This in turn has positive implications in terms of waste treatment costs and the recycling rate of the Municipality of Funchal.

On the other hand, it allows the recovery of organic waste at the domestic level, in the form of compost, which can then be used as a substitute for synthetic fertilizers, bringing environmental benefits, as a result.