What Amarsul does

Amarsul — Valorização e Tratamento de Resíduos Sólidos S.A. is a Portuguese environmental services company founded in 1997 that operates under a 25-year multimunicipal concession (extended to 2034) for the treatment and selective collection of urban waste on the South Bank of the Tagus. The company serves 9 municipalities across the Setúbal Peninsula — Alcochete, Almada, Barreiro, Moita, Montijo, Palmela, Seixal, Sesimbra, and Setúbal — covering approximately 800,000 inhabitants and 1,625 km². It operates an integrated infrastructure network of 14 facilities including 3 Ecoparks (Palmela, Seixal, Setúbal), 7 Ecocentros, 2 landfills, an organic recovery plant, and a composting center, supported by 4,000+ ecopoints.

The company's core operations span three business areas: waste treatment and recovery (mechanical sorting, organic recovery via anaerobic digestion, biogas energy generation, composting, and landfill management), selective collection services (door-to-door and ecopoint-based), and product sales (recyclable materials, organic fertilizers branded AMARTERRA PLUS®, Amarterra, and Amarverde, and electricity exported to the National Electricity Grid). In 2025, Amarsul processed 732,000 tonnes of selectively collected materials, valued 145,000 tonnes of biowaste, produced 32,000 tonnes of organic corrective products, and generated 501 GWh of electricity from waste treatment. Technology is anchored by an automated sorting center at Seixal Ecopark with ballistic separators, optical separators, and electromagnets, plus three biogas energy recovery installations.

Revenue is derived primarily from municipal concession service fees, supplemented by waste delivery fees at Ecoparks/Ecocentros, sales of sorted recyclable materials, organic fertilizer products, and electricity exports. Amarsul is majority-owned (51%) by EGF — Empresa Geral do Fomento, which is itself part of the Mota-Engil Group, with the remaining 49% held by the 9 concession municipalities. The company holds ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 certifications since 2008.

Name

Amarsul

Legal name

Amarsul – Valorização e Tratamento de Resíduos Sólidos S.A.

Website

https://amarsul.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Amarsul is a Portuguese environmental services company operating under a multimunicipal concession (to 2034) to manage urban waste treatment and selective collection for 9 municipalities across the Setúbal Peninsula, serving approximately 800,000 inhabitants with an integrated network of Ecoparks, Ecocentros, and energy recovery infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management Services

NAICS

Waste Treatment and Disposal (5622), Solid Waste Collection (562111), Materials Recovery Facilities (56292), Solid Waste Landfill (562212)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Landfill Operations & Disposal Services (IMAIAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digestate & Compost Product Processing, Marketing & Distribution (Soil Amendments, Mulch) (EUAIAEAE)

Keywords

• Urban waste management
• Waste treatment services
• Selective collection services
• Recyclable materials recovery
• Organic fertilizer production

Headquarters

HQ city

Categal

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Municipal Concession Services: Primary revenue from the 25-year concession (extended to 2034) to operate and manage the Multimunicipal System for Treatment and Selective Collection of Urban Waste on the South Bank of the Tagus for 9 municipalities. Services are provided under regulated municipal service framework.
2. Waste Delivery Fees: Fees charged for waste delivery at Ecoparks and Ecocentros from private individuals and municipalities. Pricing tables are published for Ecoparque de Palmela, Ecoparque do Seixal, and Ecoparque de Setúbal.
3. Recyclable Materials Processing: Revenue from processing and selling sorted recyclable materials (paper, glass, plastic, metal) to recycling industry. Materials recovered through selective collection are sold for reuse in manufacturing.
4. Organic Products Sales: Sale of organic soil improvers (AMARTERRA PLUS®, Amarterra, Amarverde) produced from composting and anaerobic digestion of organic waste. Products marketed for agricultural use.
5. Energy Export: Revenue from exporting electricity generated from biogas to the National Electricity Grid. In 2023, produced 20 GWh of energy through biogas valorization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Amarsul provides integrated urban waste management services — including selective collection, mechanical treatment, automated sorting, organic recovery via anaerobic digestion and composting, biogas energy recovery, and landfill disposal — across 9 municipalities on the Setúbal Peninsula under a 25-year concession extended to 2034. The company also sells recovered products including organic soil improvers (AMARTERRA PLUS®, Amarterra, Amarverde), sorted recyclable materials, and electricity exported to the national grid. It operates 14 facilities (3 Ecoparks, 7 Ecocentros, landfills, composting center, and organic recovery plant) and a network of more than 4,000 ecopoints, processing approximately 495,000 tonnes of urban waste annually.

Product overview

Amarsul is a waste management company operating a multi-infrastructure system for urban waste treatment and recovery in the Setúbal Peninsula, Portugal. The company offers a portfolio of services organized around three core business areas: Waste Treatment and Recovery (sorting, mechanical treatment, organic recovery, energy recovery, composting, eco-transfer, landfill, and biological treatment), Selective Collection Services (door-to-door and ecopoint-based collection), and Products (organic fertilizers branded AMARTERRA PLUS®, Amarterra, and Amarverde; electricity from biogas; and recyclable materials). Digital services include the Linha da Reciclagem hotline/app and Virtual Visits platform. The company manages 3 Ecoparks (Palmela, Seixal, Setúbal), 7 Ecocenters, and a network of over 4,000 ecopoints, serving 9 municipalities and approximately 800,000 inhabitants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AMARTERRA PLUS®: Organic corrective/fertilizer for use in arboreal and shrub crops such as orchards, olive groves, vineyards, and forestry species. Produced through anaerobic digestion followed by composting of the organic fraction of urban waste.
• Amarterra
• Amarverde

Products and services

• Waste Treatment and Recovery Comprehensive urban waste management services covering material sorting, mechanical treatment, organic recovery, composting, eco-transfer, landfill disposal, and biological treatment across 14 facilities. Provided under the multimunicipal concession to 9 municipalities on the Setúbal Peninsula.
• Selective Collection Services Door-to-door and ecopoint-based selective collection of recyclable waste including paper, cardboard, plastic/metal packaging, glass, and biowaste, serving residents and commercial entities in the 9 concession municipalities.
• Linha da Reciclagem (Recycling Hotline) A free, public, national service providing information about recycling, answering questions, handling service requests, complaints, compliments, and suggestions related to urban waste collection and treatment.
• AMARTERRA PLUS® Registered-trademark organic corrective (fertilizer) ideal for tree and shrub crops such as orchards, olive groves, vineyards, and forestry species, produced from anaerobic digestion and composting of the organic fraction of urban waste.
• Amarterra High-quality organic compost product suitable for application in various agricultural crops, produced through aerobic composting at the Setúbal Composting Center.
• Amarverde Organic compost product produced through the composting process at the Composting Center in Setúbal.
• Electric Energy Electricity produced from biogas energy recovery through anaerobic digestion and landfill gas extraction, exported to the National Electric Grid.
• Materials for Recycling Separated recyclable materials including PET, PEAD, liquid carton packaging (ECAL), plastic film, metals, paper, cardboard, and glass that are sold to the recycling industry for reuse in manufacturing.
• Ecopark and Ecocentro Waste Delivery Service Network of 3 Ecoparks (Palmela, Seixal, Setúbal) and 7 Ecocentros (Alcochete, Almada, Barreiro, Moita, Montijo, Seixal, Sesimbra) where private individuals and municipalities can deliver waste for landfill disposal, composting, and recycling drop-off.
• Virtual Visits Platform EGF group's virtual tour platform allowing public visitors to remotely explore 169 urban waste treatment and recovery units across the EGF portfolio, demonstrating how waste is converted into resources.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20 GWh of energy exported to national grid annually, sufficient to power approximately 10,000 households
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• EST/IPS - Escola Superior de Tecnologia de Setúbal / Instituto Politécnico de SetúbalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for development of innovative recycling point location platform and advanced selective collection management system (Sistema Integrado de Gestão da Recolha Seletiva).
• NOVA FCT - NOVA School of Science and TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership for educational visits to Ecoparks. Students from Master's in Environmental Engineering visited Seixal Ecopark as part of their curriculum on Waste Treatment Systems.
• European Projects Development OrganisationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization of teachers visited Palmela Ecopark for knowledge sharing on environmental and waste management best practices.
• TÜV RheinlandcoreTechnology or IntegrationInternational certification body that certifies Amarsul's integrated quality, environment and safety management system according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 standards since September 2008.
• Associação Humanitária dos Bombeiros Voluntários Mistos do Concelho do SeixalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial responsibility partnership under the 'Reciclar é Ajudar' (Recycling is Helping) campaign, donating materials to the firefighting association based on tonnes of glass recycled.
• Banco Alimentar Contra a Fome de SetúbalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership under 'Dê O Litro Contra A Fome' campaign, donating €1 for every tonne of glass packaging recycled. Featured Telma Monteiro (World Judo Vice-Champion) as campaign image.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Remondis: One of Europe's largest privately held waste and water service providers, operating municipal collection, sorting, recycling and energy recovery across multiple countries. Comparable integrated service model but at materially larger, multi-country scale.
• Veolia Environnement: Global environmental services group with major waste management, recycling and energy-from-waste operations across Europe, including Portugal. Comparable in services (collection, treatment, recycling, energy recovery) but operates at vastly larger scale and across multiple geographies and service lines.
• FCC Medio Ambiente: Spanish environmental services arm of FCC, operating municipal waste collection, treatment and energy recovery across Iberia and Latin America. Comparable concession-driven urban waste model, with a broader Iberian and international footprint than Amarsul.
• SUEZ: Global waste management and water services group with significant European municipal concessions, recycling and energy recovery operations. Directly comparable service portfolio (waste collection, MRFs, biogas/energy recovery) but operating as a broad, multi-region incumbent.

Regional players

• Tratolixo: Portuguese inter-municipal waste management concessionaire serving municipalities on the Lisbon north bank. Highly comparable concession model and service mix, but operating in a separate geographic area of the Lisbon metropolitan region.

Direct peers

• Lipor: Inter-municipal waste management service for 8 municipalities in Greater Porto, Portugal. Operates under a similar multimunicipal concession model with treatment, recycling, and energy recovery from urban waste — directly comparable to Amarsul's structure on the South Bank of the Tagus.
• Valorsul: Sister EGF concessionaire providing waste treatment and recovery for 19 municipalities in the Greater Lisbon region. Operates the same multimunicipal concession model and is part of the same EGF/Mota-Engil group, making it the closest functional peer to Amarsul.
• Renewi: European waste-to-product company operating municipal and commercial waste collection, sorting, recycling and energy-from-waste facilities, mainly in the Netherlands and Belgium. Comparable scale and integrated waste-to-resource value chain.
• Resiestrela: EGF concessionaire for selective collection and waste recovery in the Cova da Beira region of Portugal. Same EGF/Mota-Engil concession template, providing direct comparability on scale, services and revenue model.

Emerging players

• PreZero: European environmental services provider (Schwarz Group / Müller-owned) focused on waste collection, sorting, recycling and energy recovery with a growing Iberian presence. Comparable circular-economy service portfolio, though smaller and more growth-stage than the global incumbents.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/amarsul.pt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/amarsul
• Instagraminstagram.com/amarsul_pt

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Amarsul