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Sopsa distinguida na Gala INVEST em Santo Tirso

Sopsa, SA – the company that develops and manufactures Lasso underground and semi-underground containers – was one of the 101 companies honored by Santo Tirso City Council for its PME Excellence status during the INVEST Gala, a ceremony held this April at the Fábrica de Santo Thyrso.

For the Mayor of Santo Tirso, Alberto Costa, “the 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗮 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗦𝗧 pays a fair and deserved tribute to the companies in our municipality that, with vision, hard work and resilience, achieved the prestigious status of PME Líder and PME Excelência in 2023”.

The PME Excelência award is granted annually by IAPMEI – Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation, from the universe of PME Líder, in recognition of the merit and contribution of companies to the results of the economy. This is, therefore, a recognition of the economic, financial and management performance achieved in 2023.

“Sopsa is very proud to receive this distinction from the Santo Tirso local authority. This recognition is the result of the commitment of our entire team, the trust of our customers and our constant dedication to innovation and quality. We will continue to work with the same passion and commitment that has brought us this far and to support municipalities on their path to more sustainable waste management. Thank you all!” said Maria João Ferreira, Sopsa’s commercial director for the national market.

Lasso na Green Energy Expo

Lasso is proud to share the successful outcome of its participation in this year’s Green Energy Expo & Romenvirotec, in Bucharest. With a record-breaking attendance of over 6,000 visitors, the 2025 edition marked a significant growth for the event—and for Lasso’s visibility within the industry in Romania.

The brand’s booth saw a notable increase in visitors, attracting professionals, municipal representatives, and stakeholders interested in sustainable urban solutions. The timing of the Congress of Mayors and Local Administration of Romania—organized by ARSC and held concurrently—brought an important and relevant audience to the expo. Lasso too, had the opportunity to connect directly with decision-makers from across the country.

Lasso showcased all its innovative underground waste container systems, designed to streamline urban waste collection, improve aesthetics, and reduce environmental impact. The engagement and feedback we received confirmed a growing interest in smart, sustainable waste management in Romania.

Pedro Martins da Costa, CEO of Lasso, shared his perspective on the event: “This year’s participation in Green Energy Expo & Romenvirotec was truly rewarding. The increased attendance and the presence of municipal leaders allowed us to share our vision for cleaner, smarter cities. We’re proud to see our solutions gaining traction and look forward to continuing these conversations beyond the fair.”

“We thank everyone who visited us at the fair and look forward to future collaborations that move us closer to a cleaner, more sustainable urban future”.

Contentores hidráulicos Lasso instalados em Bucareste, Roménia

Following the installation of the new Sopsa factory in Romania, the first Lasso hydraulic underground containers are being installed in that country. The containers are destined for Sector 6 of the city of Bucharest and, to date, around 300 containers have been installed, in a project involving a total of 743 units.

The project for Sector 6 of the city of Bucharest integrates C4 hydraulic containers, with a Red Bee stainless steel column and drum, for the selective collection of mixed waste, plastic and packaging, paper and cardboard and bio-waste.

“The capital of Romania is now reorganizing its waste management, adapting it to the new European directives, and our Lasso containers will be fundamental to this process. The choice of hydraulic containers is due to the fact that they present all the advantages of a recycling bank with underground containers, without, however, the need for a crane”, says Sofia Sampaio, commercial director of Lasso for the international market.

The more than 700 new C4 hydraulic containers from Lasso are being produced at Sopsa’s new production unit, located north of Bucharest – Sopsa Inovatie Ecologica,Srl.

From 9 to 11 April, Lasso will be at Green Energy Expo & Romenvirotec, at the Romexpo exhibition centre in Bucharest, Romania. This is the international trade fair dedicated to renewable energy, waste and water management, and is the most important exhibition in this sector in this country where Sopsa has recently set up a manufacturing plant.

At this event dedicated to sustainability, Lasso will be showcasing its advanced waste collection solutions, namely its underground and semi-underground containers, manufactured by Sopsa. These solutions also include hydraulic containers, a solution with all the benefits of underground containers, but with the advantage of not requiring a crane for collection operations.

This will be an opportunity to explore and see how Lasso underground and semi-underground containers are transforming the urban environment, through solutions that are more aesthetically pleasing and take up less space, while also improving waste collection efficiency and promoting greater hygiene and a greener future for the smart cities of the future.

“This is our second year at this event in Romania, to show our customers the full potential of our innovative waste collection solutions. Romania and neighboring countries are beginning to adopt new policies regarding waste management and Sopsa positions itself as a partner for the sustainability of their cities”, says Sofia Sampaio, the brand’s commercial director for the international market.

PME Excelência

At the end of last year, Sopsa was once again recognized with the PME Excelência award, a distinction given by IAPMEI (Instituto de Apoio às Pequenas e Médias Empresas) and Turismo de Portugal to companies that present high standards of financial solidity, competitiveness and sustainable growth.

The PME Excelência status is granted to companies that stand out in the portuguese industry business, being a seal of credibility and trust for partners and customers.

“For Sopsa, this award reaffirms our commitment to quality, innovation and operational excellence. We thank our entire team, customers and partners for being part of this successful journey – together, we are working towards a more sustainable future”, highlights Pedro Martins da Costa, CEO of Sopsa.  

The municipality of Oeiras, in the center of Portugal, has taken another step towards improving its waste management system by replacing 140 old and obsolete container deposition columns with the innovative White Bee, a new solution developed by Lasso. The new White Bee features elegant deposition columns, which offer municipalities a modern and cost-effective solution to replace old and damaged containers while maintaining their existing underground infrastructure.

Lasso White Bee stands out for its simplicity and efficiency – the above-ground deposition column integrates seamlessly into existing underground waste storage systems, minimising the need for large-scale investment. Its stainless steel construction ensures longevity and wear resistance, making this equipment a practical choice for urban environments.

In addition, the White Bee can be equipped with intelligent waste management systems for data collection and eventual adoption of PAYT (Pay-As-You-Throw), optimising waste collection. “By launching this new solution, we reinforce our dedication to sustainable urban development and the cleanliness and hygiene of public spaces, by developing the best solutions to meet the needs of municipalities”, says Maria João Ferreira, Lasso’s commercial director for the national market.

Biowaste, often overlooked as a resource, has great potential for recovery, constituting a valuable resource as a raw material. Generated in households, restaurants and other sectors, biowaste includes food scraps, garden waste and other biodegradable materials. With the global increase in the levels of waste generated by society, the appropriate recovery of biowaste is a key strategy for municipalities to achieve their environmental goals.

Why biowaste is important

Biowaste makes up a significant proportion of municipal waste. Improper disposal of this waste, particularly in landfills, leads to very negative consequences, such as methane emissions – a greenhouse gas that has been shown to contribute to climate change. However, when managed correctly, biowaste becomes a valuable resource, and can be converted into compost to enrich soils, biogas for renewable energy or bio-based products, promoting a circular economy where waste is minimised and resources are continually reused.

In Europe, biowaste recycling has taken centre stage due to stringent regulatory frameworks, such as the revised Landfill Directive EU 2018/850, which stipulates that no more than 10% of municipal waste may be landfilled by 2030. Municipalities are now tasked with upgrading their waste management systems to ensure that biowaste is separated, collected and treated efficiently. This is where innovation plays a critical role.

How Lasso supports municipalities in their biowaste management

At Lasso, we are proud to have been contributing to the sustainability of municipalities and communities for over 30 years, with innovative solutions adapted to modern waste management challenges. Our Lasso’s underground and semi-underground containers – such as Semi PE, Semi BT, Green Bee, Red Bee and the latest hydraulic systems – provide an efficient and sustainable system for the collection of biowaste and other recyclable waste, providing municipalities with the means to reach their recycling targets more quickly.

Advantages of Lasso underground and semi-underground containers:

1. More efficient: with a capacity of 5m³, 3m³ or 1.5m³, they are designed to collect large volumes of waste, helping to reduce the frequency of collection trips, which reduces operating costs and carbon emissions.

2. More hygiene: by storing waste underground, Lasso underground containers reduce odours and pests, creating cleaner and healthier urban spaces.

3. More available public space: compact and discreet, Lasso containers occupy a limited space in the urban landscape, with a pleasant visual aesthetic.

4. Smart management: Lasso containers can be equipped with smart technology, for monitoring fill levels and access control, which provides real-time data to optimise collection trip schedules and ensure waste is managed more effectively.

Given their ease of access and functionality, Lasso containers not only simplify the waste disposal process for citizens, they also encourage communities to adopt more sustainable habits.

Lasso is a partner to municipalities, continually developing waste collection solutions adapted to the specific needs of each community. By prioritizing the separation of bio-waste, cities and towns can improve their recycling rates, reduce landfill waste and comply with environmental directives. Lasso’s products are at their side, bringing with them all the know-how and experience of a company with over 30 years of experience.


 

 

The city of Vilnius, in Lithuania, adopted Lasso’s Green Bee underground waste containers to reinforce selective waste collection. Following the brand’s expansion efforts into Eastern European countries, this is yet another important market in Eastern countries opting for Lasso’s underground containers to support their sustainability goals.

The Green Bee underground containers installed in Vilnius, show a stainless steel column, and have a capacity of 5m³ for collecting mixed waste, plastic and packaging and paper and cardboard, and 3m³ for glass collection. The choice for this model is precisely due to its large capacity for collecting waste and its storage underground, which reduces the number of collection trips and also ensures greater hygiene in the urban space, in addition to its design and aesthetic appearance, pleasing to the eye and harmoniously integrated into the surrounding landscape.

Also noteworthy is the pedal detail for greater comfort in use and the personalized signage for that municipality.

In today’s cities, optimizing urban space while maintaining a pleasant aesthetic is a constant challenge, especially when it comes to waste management. Lasso’s underground waste containers, manufactured by Sopsa, emerged as an innovative solution, offering a perfect balance between functionality, design and care for the environment. Lasso solutions – such as the Green Bee underground containers (see photo) – are designed for perfect integration into the urban landscape, providing efficient waste collection and minimizing visual impact.

Green Bee underground containers occupy minimal surface space, with the majority of their structure and storage capacity installed below ground. At street level, only a small, elegant column is visible, designed with a modern aesthetic that adapts to both historic centers and newly developed urban areas. Easy to access and user-friendly, the Green Bee recycling bank can be equipped with five containers for different types of waste: mixed waste, glass, plastic and metal, paper and cardboard, and bio-waste.

With a discreet appearance, Lasso underground containers offer a large capacity for storing waste below ground, which allows for less frequent collection trips, contributing to a cleaner and less polluted urban environment. Storing waste underground also means that waste is stored at a lower temperature, minimizing unpleasant odors and creating a more hygienic solution for areas that are typically densely populated.

On the other hand, the design of Lasso’s Green Bee underground containers emphasizes efficiency not only in waste collection, but also in its maintenance, as with fewer elements visible above the ground and manufactured with resistant materials, they are less likely to damage from vandalism or accidents, reducing long-term maintenance costs for municipalities.

Smart solutions for waste management

At a time when technology is revolutionizing every facet of urban life, Lasso containers are also prepared for the digital transition of cities, particularly for intelligent waste management. Containers – whether Green Bee or others – can be equipped with intelligent waste management systems, particularly for access control or monitoring of filling levels, which improve their functionality and efficiency. The optimization of containers with these systems allows the adoption of PAYT (Pay-As-You-Throw) pricing, as well as reducing fuel consumption, reducing emissions from waste collection vehicles and operating costs, which makes these systems a highly sustainable solution.

As cities grow and evolve, solutions like Lasso’s Green Bee underground containers will play a critical role in shaping urban environments that are not only efficient and sustainable, but also aesthetically pleasing. Enabling a cleaner, more ecological approach to intelligent waste management, Lasso’s containers help municipalities face the challenges of modern urban life without compromising the beauty and functionality of their public spaces.

Lasso has supplied around 70 new semi-underground containers for waste collection in the community of Val de Drôme, in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region, in France. In a region with an essentially agricultural and rural landscape, the new Lasso Semi PE containers offer a large storage capacity for all types of waste, reducing collection trips and offering a more sustainable solution.

In a project developed in collaboration with Contenur, Lasso’s distributor for the French market, recycling banks were installed made up of 5m³ semi-underground polyethylene containers, with “Imitation Wood” recycled plastic finishing.

Regarding its technical characteristics and configurations, the container for mixed waste has a modular lid with a simple drum, with bag and Quick System extraction system; for packaging and paper, a solution was selected with a modular lid and small lid, bag and Quick System extraction system; and, for glass, the option was also the modular lid with a small lid, but here with a metal tank, better adapted to this type of waste, with a single hook extraction system.

“The configuration solutions for Lasso semi-underground containers are quite diverse, from the openings, to the tank and the extraction system, and allow adaptation to the needs of each community, this versatility being one of its great advantages. They are also containers that ensure a perfect fit into the environment and support the sustainability strategies of municipalities”, says Sofia Sampaio, Lasso’s commercial director for the international market.