Portugal: Full Implementation of Plastic Bottle Deposit System Starting April 2026

Recently, Portugal's Environment Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho announced in parliament that starting April 2026, Portuguese citizens will receive deposit refunds when returning single-use plastic beverage bottles. The Bottle Deposit and Refund System (SDR) will launch nationwide on April 10, 2026, with 2,500 recycling machines installed to collect single-use plastic, aluminum, and steel beverage containers.
Approximately 8,000 manual collection points will be established nationwide, located in supermarkets, traditional shops, hotels, restaurants, and cafes. The government estimates this system will save between €20 million and €40 million annually in urban cleaning costs. According to the law, this deposit scheme was originally scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2022, but has now been delayed for over three years. Per the SDR Portugal official website, consumers will pay a deposit when purchasing beverages in containers of 3 liters or less, fully refundable upon returning the empty bottle. Recycled bottles will be sent to sorting centers for processing into recycled raw materials used to produce new packaging. The deposit amount has not yet been disclosed.
This initiative aims to help Portugal achieve its environmental goal: reaching a 90% separate collection rate for single-use plastic bottles and metal beverage containers by 2029. Additionally, the minister announced that the “E-lar” appliance replacement subsidy program will reopen on December 2 with an additional budget of €51.6 million, encouraging residents to replace gas appliances in their homes with electric ones.