The creation in 2008 of Integrated Centers of Recovery Valuation and Elimination of Hazardous Industrial
Waste (CIRVER) gave the answer to a great part of this problem. These integrated centers conjugate the best
technologies at tolerable costs providing a viable solution for each type of waste in order to optimize the
treatment conditions and to minimize the costs at the same time. Notice that only a part of the waste can be
disposed by a thermal treatment in co-incineration. From the 250 thousand tons of hazardous industrial waste
produced in a year only 10% cannot be managed in CIRVER or cannot be restored. Due to its hazardousness
20 % of the non treatable by CIRVER (or restored) cannot be treated in any way. It is necessary to reduce the
production of these wastes and also invest in industries with high technology. In 2004 and 2005 the total
production of industrial waste in Portugal was of the order of 25 and 31 million tons, respectively. From
1998 to 2007 there was an increase of about 50 % in the production of such waste. The HIW were
approximately 9 and 8 % of total production of industrial waste in t h e two years under review. The
contribution of HIW to the total production of industrial waste increased by around 7 % in the period
between 1998 and 2007.