Local Beverage Recycling Vendors

SDR Portugal has showcased its national Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), volta, which is committed to advancing efforts to improve beverage container recovery. The system covers single-use PET bottles and aluminium or steel cans up to three litres that carry the volta label.

Under this initiative, consumers pay a €0.10 deposit per eligible item, which is refunded upon return through a network of 500 reverse vending machines and 48 designated collection points nationwide. Returns generate a voucher that can be redeemed for cash or used toward supermarket purchases.

The initiative supports broader EU packaging and recycling targets, including achieving 50% plastic packaging recycling by 2025 and 55% by 2030. Longer-term goals set more stringent recycled content requirements by 2040, such as 65% for single-use beverage bottles, 50% for contact-sensitive PET packaging, and 65% for other plastic formats.

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