Portugal launches "Volta" packaging return scheme

Portugal will start in April the new Deposit and Return (SDR in Portuguese) scheme for beverage packaging item under the brand Volta, a structural instrument in environmental policy to accelerate the transition to a circular economy and significantly increase the country’s recycling rates.

"The Deposit and Return Scheme is a veritable structural reform with concrete and measurable impacts on citizens’ lives", claimed the Minister of Environment and Energy Maria da Graça Carvalho at the introductory session on 4 March.

The project is developed by a consortium bringing together the beverage (soda, water and beer) industry, responsible for 90% of the market share, and food retail enterprises representing around 80% of the sector. The initiative was prepared together with the Minister of Environment and Energy and the Ministry of Economy and Territorial Cohesion.

The system introduces a simple mechanism: for each plastic, aluminium or steel bottle or can up to three litres purchased, consumers pay a 0,10-euro deposit, which is fully returned when the packaging item is returned at one of the return points. This can be done in machines set up in supermarkets or manual collection points. 

The return can be made via a voucher converted into cash or discounts off shopping, digitally through loyalty cards or electronic solutions, or by donating the amount to institutions. The packaging must have the Volta symbol displayed and a legible barcode.

The national infrastructure will include around 2,500 automatic collection machines, more than 8 000 manual collection points and 48 kiosks to deliver large amounts in dense urban areas. 

Featuring an overall 150-million-euro investment, the aim of this initiative is to guarantee that "a bottle will become bottle again" and a "can will become a can again". The project will create around 1,500 direct and indirect jobs in the fields of logistics operations, equipment maintenance, sorting, and technological development.

The system will enable compliance with the recycling of single-use beverage packaging up to 3 litres, set at 90% by 2029. The national trajectory sets 40% and 70% rates in the first year, 80% in 2027 and the European target by the end of the decade.

The Government acknowledges that the waste sector faces structural challenges, from the need to boost infrastructure to improving waste separation and recycling behaviour in citizens. The new system integrates a wider waste management modernisation strategy, which includes, among others:

• The TERRA programme, based on three main action lines: Prevention and the Circular Economy, Infrastructures, and Institutional Action. 

• Awareness raising campaign of the waste reduction, reuse, and recycling targets, which is under way.

During the transition period, from 10 April and 9 August 2026, only packaging with the Volta symbol will have a deposit and be returned. As of 10 August, all single-use beverage packaging in the market will be included in the scheme mandatorily.