By: CECÍLIA PIRES
PLASTIC BOTTLE tops can help disabled people in Portugal, thanks to a collecting campaign that has been running for several years.
The Algarve, with the help of ALGAR, the organisation responsible for collecting and recycling urban rubbish, is also helping with this project by using the company’s facilities to store the tops and by arranging for the orthopaedic equipment, bought with the proceeds, to be donated to local organisations.
Great response
In 2006, ALGAR signed a special agreement with Associação Tampa Amiga, the national association promoting the ‘bottle tops for
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disabled’ project. Since then, ALGAR has donated a total of 22 wheelchairs, three special beds and several other pieces of orthopaedic equipment.
The region’s response to the campaign has been great and further donations are already being scheduled.
The idea came about because someone needed a wheelchair and didn’t have the money to buy it and, for several years, many campaigns were held by anonymous people to buy wheelchairs, orthopaedic equipment or special beds for the disabled all over the country.
In 2003, a nurse decided to create an association to better organise the bottle tops campaigns and the fund raising efforts. That was the beginning of Associação Tampa Amiga, whose headquarters are in Lisbon, but they have local branches all over the country and the Madeira and Azores islands.
This cooperation network helped to centralise the numerous ongoing campaigns and gave collectors details of where to send the tops after a local campaign.
Collection points
In the Algarve region, all the bottle tops collected can be delivered to the eight rubbish transfer centres, located in Albufeira, Alcoutim, Aljezur, Castro Marim, Lagos, Loulé, Tavira and Vila do Bispo. They can also be taken to the eco centres in Albufeira, Portimão and Quarteira and the landfill site in Portimão. The reason the project is for plastic bottle tops is not simply because of the plastic characteristics. It is also down to the storage space needed.
However, Miguel Nunes, an operational director at ALGAR, said the fact that people only collect bottle tops works against the environment in many cases. “The problem is that by taking the tops off, many people don’t bother to put the actual bottle in the right recycling bin and that causes more damage to the environment.”
ALGAR is already studying a new approach for this campaign. “One that might allow people to include the complete bottle, and not only the tops,” he said.
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