Recivalongo criticizes Mayor of Valongo for closing landfill

A Recivalongo criticized today the mayor of Valongo, Paulo Esteves Ferreira, for, days after being convicted of abuse of power against the company that holds the landfill in Sobrado, having approved the closure of that space.

“ We regret that, a few days after a sentence that condemned at first instance the current mayor and his predecessor for abuse of power against the company, the mayor returned to publicly support, in Municipal Assembly, a motion that requires the closure of the landfill ", writes the company in the statement today released.

Recivalongo points out that the court “censored” the appeal to “probatory claims devoid of probative support”, spread through the media.

“ It makes us particularly strange the moment chosen”, adds the statement.

The current and former mayor of Valongo, Paulo Esteves Ferreira and José Manuel Ribeiro, respectively, were convicted on October 22 by the Court of Valongo for abuse of power and the loss of mandate for limiting the movement of trucks on the road to the Sobrado landfill in 2020.

The two mayors, elected by the PS, were also sentenced to the payment of 100 days of fine, at 30 euros each day, and to the payment “in solidarity” of 61 thousand euros.

According to the prosecution of the Public Prosecutor (MP), the current president of that municipality of the district of Porto, Paulo Esteves Ferreira, who at the time of the facts was a councilman with the porours of municipal works and mobility, and his predecessor ordered, in 2020, the restriction of traffic on the Municipal Road 606 (EM606) of trucks to the landfill of Sobrado to lead to its closure.

In the same communication, the landfill management company, which since 2019 has been strongly contested by the population of Sobrado and the municipality, reveals an alleged contradiction of the mayor.

“On October 26, the Municipality of Valongo signed, through its services, the auto review survey carried out by the Portuguese Environment Agency to the landfill, in which it participated, and this author concludes that the conditions for renewing the license are fulfilled. A few days later, the president of the same chamber supported the closure ", writes, referring to the support to the motion approved on Tuesday in Municipal Assembly.

In response to Lusa, the municipality underlines that “it has no powers to decide on the allocation and renewal of landfill operating licenses”, and that the positioning conveyed in the survey “is clear and leaves no room for ambiguity regarding the way the municipality views the operation of this equipment”.

Claiming to have “found several inconsistencies” in the conditions of operation of the landfill, the municipality maintains that there are “environmental risks (...), namely the potential dispersion of odors, the increase in the volume of effluent to be managed in weather situations or severe precipitation, with possible spillage or overflow, and consequent contamination of soil and water resources”.

Cited by the statement, the administrator of Recivalongo, João Marques, pointed out that “for years” the company was presented “publicly as a danger to the population, while the competent authorities confirmed” that they “comply with the law”.

“Recivalongo has never ceased to operate with the licenses, supervision and rigour that the activity requires. This sentence recognizes what we have always said and reminds us that public authorities exist to serve people, not to harm those who work within the law ", concludes.

Also in a statement, the president of the Portuguese Association of Waste and Environment Companies (APERA), Celso Rocha, argues that “the demonization of landfills exploits the ignorance of the public about a technical and indispensable activity, and has been used as a political weapon too easily”.

Regarding the judicial decision, he believes that “he clearly says that the rules apply also to those who hold public positions and that waste management in Portugal is done by licensed, supervised and necessary companies”.