The campaign by Nossa and Nova Expressão, which won the tender to develop APA’s communication in the waste area, will run between December and the end of 2026.
Nossa is the creative agency chosen by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) to develop the new communication, awareness and information campaign in the waste area, ‘Vamos lixar o lixo’. Nova Expressão is responsible for disseminating the message across the various channels, with a high-impact strategy based on criteria of reach, relevance and efficiency.
The launch of the campaign lasts 15 months and has a massive presence across several channels: media, social media, influencers, outdoors and through high-impact creative actions, with direct contact with citizens.
‘Vamos lixar o lixo’ is divided into two main communication waves: Christmas 2025 and summer 2026. In figures, each wave represents more than eight million people on TV, more than five million on radio, more than two million in the press and more than four million in the digital environment, APA estimates in a press release.
“The waste sector, in terms of environmental policies, represents one of the greatest challenges we have in our country, since waste production increases every year, selective collection is practically stagnant and dependence on landfills is still very high. In this festive period, it is important that citizens understand their fundamental role and contribute by separating their waste,” says José Pimenta Machado, chairman of APA’s board of directors, quoted in the statement.
“We have high expectations for this campaign in the sense that, in parallel with all the actions being implemented and investments associated with the waste sector, it can leverage an effective transition to a more circular economy. APA’s appeal is clear: let’s separate the rubbish before the future gets screwed,” he concludes.
Nuno Cardoso, partner and CCO of Nossa, says that “‘Vamos lixar o lixo’ is a message of action, which aims to motivate the Portuguese to take part in this fight for better waste management and contribute to a more sustainable country. In the coming months, this campaign, with several communication moments, will present the real scale of the waste management problem, in strong and disruptive language. Vamos lixar o lixo is a challenge for us all to face head-on a true national purpose to which we can all contribute.”
At this first moment of the campaign, on the eve of Christmas, APA reveals that around 1.3 million tonnes of food waste are not properly separated by the Portuguese each year. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the urgent need to properly separate the waste we produce at home, with direct and impactful consequences for the amount of waste that exhausts our landfills, with the message ‘na época de união, faz a separação’.
In parallel, APA is launching the campaign website – https://vamoslixarolixo.pt/ – with all the relevant information, and reinforces the message through a Christmas tree created from waste, presented on 17 December at Cascais Xmas Village, in Parque Marechal Carmona, in Cascais. Next to the tree, an APA pop-up shop – ‘Loja de Lixo’ – invites the Portuguese to exchange waste for a Christmas gift.
