Lisbon, April 10, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's deposit refund system (SDR), which allows people to return plastic bottles for a €0.10 refund, starts nationwide on Friday.

Environment Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho described the system as one of the country's biggest environmental projects. 

The scheme covers single-use plastic or metal beverage containers up to 3 litres, with customers paying a €0.10 fee per drink and receiving a refund through machines installed nationwide.

SDR officials said some identical beverage containers, such as water bottles, might not be accepted during this initial phase if they lack the ‘Volta’ brand. 

They explained that containers without the system symbol, a national recycling mark, did not include the €0.10 fee.

Based on experiences in other countries, SDR Portugal, the entity managing 'Volta', says the system will significantly increase collection rates for single-use containers, aiming for 90% by 2029.

Starting Friday, any of the 2,500 machines nationwide, including 48 kiosks for larger quantities, will accept intact, empty containers with caps and barcodes featuring the 'Volta' symbol. The machines, often located at supermarkets, crush the packaging and issue a 10-cent voucher redeemable for cash.

SDR Portugal provides detailed information on its official website.

The SDR system operates in several European countries, including Germany, Austria, and Denmark and collects over 35 billion containers annually from 357 million people.

FP/LYT // ADB.

Lusa