Abreu Advogados advised on the creation of APERA – the first association of non-hazardous waste companies
New association aims to raise awareness in Government and society for the strategic importance of non-hazardous waste landfills for the sustainability and national economy.
Abreu Advogados advised on the creation of the Portuguese Association of Waste and Environmental Companies (APERA), which brings together the main operators in the management of non-hazardous waste, with a total of 14 founding members, and seeks to raise awareness of the main challenges in the sector.
The Association will enable the creation of synergies between companies in the sector for a joint action to promote good practices and seek solutions to the different obstacles, such as the existing technical obstacles to the operation of non-hazardous waste landfills; the technical confusion that still prevails between operators of non-hazardous waste and hazardous waste and a set of regulatory solutions that have hindered the sector’s activity, including the regulation, considered illegal by APERA, which defends the extension to non-hazardous waste landfills of the specific admissibility requirements in relation to the limit values of waste that until now were only applicable to hazardous waste; as well as the recent limitations on the internationalization of companies in this sector.
“APERA was born from the sector’s desire to have an association that aggregates all operators, which can defend its interests and promote greater discussion and public reflection on the issues that involve the management of non-hazardous waste. For this matter, we have been in contact with the Government and the Portuguese Environmental Association so that some regulatory issues, and others, that have been conditioning the activity of our associates and, in the limit, the competitiveness in the environmental sector, with serious consequences for the economy, may be corrected”, says Carlos Conceição, Director of GRUPO NOV and Chairman of APERA.
Abreu Advogados was involved in the formal establishment of the association through a team led by José Eduardo Martins, Partner and Co-coordinator of the Public Law and Environment practice area of Abreu Advogados, which also includes Ricardo Branco, Of Counsel at Abreu Advogados and Raquel Barroso, Associate at Abreu Advogados.
“At Abreu Advogados we have advised and accompanied the waste management sector and its companies for many years, so it is with great pride that we are directly involved in the creation of APERA. This is a sector that avoids, for example, the abandonment of waste produced on a large scale by large-scale industry and commerce, and is therefore fundamental not only for the national economy but mainly for environmental sustainability”, defends José Eduardo Martins, partner at Abreu Advogados.
APERA’s Board of Directors is presided by Carlos Conceição (NOV GROUP) with Rui Pedro Santos (SUMA GROUP) as Vice-President and Vanessa Segurado (BLUEOTTER GROUP) as Treasurer. Tiago Borges (GRUPO FERROVIAL) is president of the General Meeting Board and Marco Marques (GRUPO SEMURAL) assumes the presidency of the Supervisory Board.
