The future of single-use beverage packaging in Portugal

SDR Portugal's ambition

To create and manage the Deposit Refund System for single-use beverage packaging, positioning itself,as an alternative, complementary, to the existing collection and recycling of packaging system, and more sustainable and efficient.

Retail

An additional deposit fee, fixed and independent of the price of the product, is charged upon purchase of beverage single-use containers

Beverage Industry

Beverage producers and packagers

Consumer-citizen:

The consumer returns the single-use containers to the collection point and receives the deposit paid upon purchase

Recyclers

Those who transform the material collected for recycling and reuse as new packaging to produce new containers

Counting and Sorting Centres

For the counting and preparation of used single-use containers for recycling

Return Points

In retail, traditional stores, hospitality, and other locations

Logistics

From collection points of single-use containers to counting and sorting centres

Retail

An additional deposit fee, fixed and independent of the price of the product, is charged upon purchase of beverage single-use containers

Consumer-citizen:

The consumer returns the single-use containers to the collection point and receives the deposit paid upon purchase

Return Points

In retail, traditional stores, hospitality, and other locations

Logistics

From collection points of single-use containers to counting and sorting centres

Counting and Sorting Centres

For the counting and preparation of used single-use containers for recycling

Recyclers

Those who transform the material collected for recycling and reuse as new packaging to produce new containers

Beverage Industry

Beverage producers and packagers

Members

SDR Portugal brings together more than two dozen companies from the beverage industry and retail sector in Portugal. These companies, as part of their corporate sustainability policies and extended producer responsibility, aim to manage the national Deposit Refund System and contribute to achieving the environmental goals to which Portugal is obliged.

An Affordable, Transparent and Trustworthy system

The SDR Portugal system will have a positive impact on the environment and on the national economy.

0 thousand

thousand tons of CO2eq avoided in the production of new packaging

0 thousand

tons of CO2eq avoided by incorporating better quality recycled material in the production of new products

-30/40%

littering

+ 0

direct and indirect jobs

Stimulating an economic ecosystem in the fields of metallurgy, information technology, data management, security, and reliability systems

100/150M€

to invest in the installation of the entire system

SDR Portugal in the Media

Presence in relevant media outlets: from general to specialized.

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United States of America

Canada

Australia

Israel

Iceland

Ireland

Greenland

Norway

Sweden

Finland

Latvia

Estonia

Lithuania

Denmark

Germany

South Korea

Belize

Netherlands

Croatia

Austria

Hungary

Romania

Slovakia

Malta

Barbados

Seychelles

Micronesia

Kiribati

Palau

Marshall Islands

Tuvalu

Portugal

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Deposit Refund Systems in the World

There are more than 100 Deposit Refund Systems around the world.

Portugal is moving forward with the implementation of a more sustainable and efficient collection system for single-use beverage containers, involving the collaboration and engagement of all stakeholders in the value chain. The implementation is scheduled for 2026.

Contact SDR Portugal

Contact SDR Portugal to clarify any questions or to start the process of joining the Deposit Return System (DRS).

O Sistema

Impacto

© 2025 SDR Portugal

The System

Impact

© 2025 SDR Portugal