Impact
The implementation of the DRS in Portugal will improve the quality of recycled materials, support compliance with environmental targets, and introduce technological solutions that enhance circularity, sustainability, and innovation throughout the entire beverage packaging materials management chain.
1
Circularity
As an exclusive stream for beverage containers, the DRS will enable higher-quality recycling due to the low level of contaminants, improving material recyclability and contributing to the circular use of raw materials.
Can
to can.
Bottle
to bottle.
108 thousand tonnes less CO₂eq
The increase in recovered quantities will prevent the annual emission of 108 thousand tonnes of CO₂eq in the production of new containers, equivalent to 100 thousand fewer tonnes of packaging per year.
109 thousand tonnes less CO₂eq
The improvement in the quality of the collected material, when used in the production of new products, will prevent the annual emission of 109 thousand tonnes of CO₂eq.
2
Sustainability
The DRS to be implemented in Portugal will ensure the efficient and effective collection and treatment of single-use beverage containers to support the achievement of the country’s sustainability goals.
Reduction of contaminants
Estimated decrease between 18% and 26%.
Reduction in operational and logistical costs
Process optimisation with a direct impact on economic efficiency.
Prevention of marine litter
Mitigation of the impact of waste in the marine environment.
PET packaging recovered
SDR Portugal will more than double the quantity of high-quality recovered PET containers, creating an opportunity to invest in doubling national recycling capacity.
Littering reduction
A reduction of 30% to 40% in overall littering and 70% to 90% in beverage container littering is expected, translating into annual savings of 20 to 40 million euros in cleaning costs in Portugal.
+1,500 jobs
SDR Portugal estimates the creation of over 1,500 direct and indirect jobs.
Operational and logistical cost reduction
The reduction of operational and logistics costs for municipalities and waste management entities (SGRU) is estimated between 9 and 20 million euros.
Source: Study conducted by 3drivers for SDR Portugal (2022).
3
Innovation
SDR Portugal presents a technologically innovative solution that will deliver clear benefits for the sector, citizen-consumers, and the environment.
Economic Ecosystem
The DRS can and should foster an economic ecosystem in areas such as materials engineering, particularly in PET and aluminium recycling, information technologies, data management, and security and reliability systems.
Collection network
Direct investments in SDR Portugal are estimated at over 90 million euros annually until 2029, ensuring a collection network comprising 2,800 retail stores, 12,000 traditional shops, and 80,000 HoReCa establishments. The infrastructure includes 2,500 reverse vending machines (RVMs) and over 8,000 manual collection points, supported by 6 Bulk Centres, 50 Bulk Kiosks, and Counting and Sorting Centres in Lisbon and Porto.
Local recyclers
Investment in packaging material recycling streams will have a significant impact on boosting the activity of local recyclers.