PAN expresses concern about increased waste due to the growing tourist flow

PAN Madeira met today with the administration of ARM, a public company that guarantees water management and waste collection in several municipalities in the Region. “As it is a company with transversal action on environmental issues and the fight against climate change, the party wanted to understand what challenges the sector faces in order to develop a concerted stance with the real needs of the Autonomous Region of Madeira”, he said. the party in a statement.

“In view of the facts, the PAN is clearly concerned about the increase in the production and collection of solid waste since 2021, directly related to the growth of tourist flow, and it is imperative that compensation, accountability and environmental awareness measures be developed for players. ‘ of tourism, effectively giving reason to the PAN on the issue of the Environmental Fund coming from the tourist tax and which should be directed to these issues”, he continues.

“PAN Madeira also had the opportunity to understand that there is an urgent need for local responses to the processing of certain specific waste such as tires or hospital waste, creating ways to minimize the carbon footprint, since almost all material that is not incinerated ends up being taken to the mainland.”

The party also argues that “in the production and availability of organic compost that ARM offers free of charge, it is crucial to focus more on the dissemination and use of this top quality product in public gardens and parks, reducing the area of ​​lawns and increasing the garden area and trees, measures that PAN has been advocating since last September and which make it possible to publicize the great potential of this technique”.

In the same note, PAN also highlights that “the issue of water losses and intelligent and forward-thinking management in the face of climate change was one of the central issues that caught our attention and where PAN defends greater investment in a concerted manner and multidisciplinary”.

“Finally, PAN also had the opportunity to realize that there are reservations in the correct separation of waste throughout the product cycle, and for this reason it is pertinent to continue investing in awareness raising, door-to-door collection, specific bonuses for entities that reduce the production of waste, the conversion of cutlery and utensils to metal and the reduction of all single-use waste, starting with the public sector, measures that we fiercely defend in our Electoral Program and which will always have, in PAN Madeira, the greatest attention and focus”, he concludes.