Loulé celebrated its “municipality week” by unveiling the results of a series of eco-friendly projects including a ‘smart waste system’ which uses sensors inside rubbish containers to send important information to the local waste management company.
The sensors have been placed inside 150 rubbish containers in the luxury resort of Vale do Lobo and are used to help calculate how full the containers are so that waste collection can be better managed.
Says the council, it will also help detect fires straight away and forecast how full the containers will be at times when there are more people staying in the resort.
This will help reduce the number of kilometres travelled by local rubbish collection trucks, making the whole system more efficient and eco-friendly, it adds.
“This is the end of a cycle, the last technological tool of the Smart Resort by Infralobo,” said Carlos Manso, head of Infralobo, the company responsible responsible for managing infrastructures at Vale do Lobo.
The Smart Resort by Infralobo project had already led to the creation of a cycling route, a shared bicycle system and many other environmentally-conscious initiatives such as a new ‘smart’ watering system for local gardens and green areas.
In the first four months of this year, Infralobo has already reduced the usage of its vehicles by 16% and saved around €48,000 in transportation costs as well as “many thousands of euros in water costs”. The company also says it has greatly improved its customer service.
Also unveiled in Vale do Lobo was a new water pumping station that has “increased its capacity” and offers new “energy-efficient” solutions as well as a new charging station for electric vehicles. As the council says, it wants to promote the usage of “eco-friendly vehicles” in a bid to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions.
New car park for Vilamoura
Elsewhere, a new 159-space car park was inaugurated in Vilamoura. Named after Melvin Jones – the founder of Lions Club International – the car park also boasts five racks for bicycle parking.
The renovation of the fountain at the Arthur Cupertino Miranda statue in Vilamoura was also unveiled last week.
