The Multimunicipal System for the Treatment and Recovery of Urban Solid Waste in the Central Coast was created by Decree-Law No. 166/96, of September 5, with a geographical area corresponding to 31 municipalities. The municipality of Albergaria-a-Velha was immediately integrated, and in 1998 the municipalities of Arouca, Oliveira de Azeméis, S. João da Madeira and Vale de Cambra were integrated, thus totaling 36 municipalities covering an area of ​​6,694 km2 and serving a population of approximately 1 million inhabitants.

The operation and management of the System was, by the same legal decree, assigned to ERSUC – Resíduos Sólidos do Centro, S.A., whose statutes were defined therein, its share capital currently amounting to €8,500,000, fully subscribed and paid up, represented by 1,700,000 shares with a nominal value of €5 belonging, as of December 31, 2014.

The concession contract between the State and ERSUC was signed on March 14, 1997, and, on the same date, the contracts for the delivery and receipt of waste and for selective collection were signed between the Municipalities and ERSUC. On December 29, 2010, an addendum to the concession contract was signed, extending, among other changes, the concession period until December 31, 2030.

Decree-Law No. 102/2014, of July 2, amended Decree-Law No. 166/1996, of September 5, adapting the statutes of ERSUC to a new legal reality resulting from the entry of private capital into the management entities of Multimunicipal Waste Systems, under the terms of Decree-Law No. 92/2016, of July 11.

On September 30, 2015, the concession contract for the operation and management, under a public service regime, of the Multimunicipal System for the Treatment and Selective Collection of Urban Solid Waste in the Central Coast region between the Portuguese State and ERSUC – Resíduos Sólidos do Centro, S.A., was reconfigured, extending the concession period until December 31, 2034.

ERSUC seeks to fulfill its mission and objectives in an economically, financially, socially, and environmentally efficient manner, meeting demanding quality parameters, striving to safeguard and expand its competitiveness, respecting the principles of social responsibility, sustainable development, public service, and meeting the needs of the community as established for it.