Lisbon, Sept. 15, 2026 (Lusa) - The petition calling for an alternative to the ‘Volta' deposit and refund scheme for packaging, which is currently awaiting «a decision on its admissibility» in parliament, has already gathered more than 37,000 signatures, according to information on the ‘Petição Pública' website.
After its submission to parliament on 15 August, the petition, calling on the government, parliament and the Portuguese Environment Agency to «immediately suspend the ‘Volta' deposit and refund system and replace it with a transparent, fair and genuinely environmentally friendly model», parliament referred it to the Environment and Energy Committee four days later, according to the Assembly of the Republic's website.
When citizens submitted the petition to the Assembly, it carried 34,211 signatures, while 7,500 signatures are required for a petition to be debated in plenary.
A month later, almost 3,000 more people had signed the petition, which argues that the system «shifts costs from businesses to consumers» and is also «held responsible for failures beyond its control».
It also points out a «lack of transparency regarding who profits from the system» and that it «fails to meet its stated environmental objective».
According to the signatories, an environmental scheme should «reduce waste, increase recycling, promote producer responsibility, and be accessible and fair to all»; however, the petition adds, «the ‘Volta' scheme falls short on all these counts, creating barriers, costs and injustices that undermine environmental policy and erode public trust».
The scheme, which came into operation in April, allows consumers to reclaim the 10-cent deposit paid at the time of purchase for single-use plastic, metal and aluminium bottles and cans of less than three litres, by returning them to ‘Volta' collection points across mainland Portugal, the Azores and Madeira.
In addition to the «immediate suspension of the ‘Volta' system in its current form», the petition calls for an «independent audit of the financial, operational and environmental model of SDR Portugal», an association that «brings together more than two dozen companies from the drinks industry and retail sector» which «manage the Deposit and Refund System (SDR)», as stated by the association on its website.
The public petition «For the End of the ‘Volta' System and the Creation of a Fair Packaging Management Model», whose first signatory is João Pontes, «is not affiliated with any organisation or political party», the text states and is a petition «by citizens for citizens».
The minister for the environment acknowledged on 1 January that the Volta system's implementation had encountered challenges, particularly because people left packaging on public roads, whilst assuring that officials are analysing and resolving the identified issues on a case-by-case basis.
«The Volta system […] is a European system that will become mandatory in all European countries, and we were the 18th country to implement it. In all of them, there were teething problems at the start, so it is a complex system, but it is very useful for reusing plastic bottles and all kinds of cans,» Maria da Graça Carvalho told journalists in Brussels.
The minister highlighted major events and festivals as one of the first problems identified, noting that this issue has now been resolved, and also mentioned the need to find solutions to encourage people to stop rummaging through rubbish for packaging to claim their refund.
«We are in a transition phase; we hope to resolve all the problems,» said Maria da Graça Carvalho, arguing that it is necessary to step up enforcement and involve local authorities, particularly in locating the collection machines and monitoring the system's operation.
PAL/ADB // ADB.
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