The Portuguese government has launched a programme to encourage the return of non-reusable plastic bottles.
A new bill to that effect has been published in Diário da República, and the implementation of the pilot project will last until 21 December 2019.
From 1 January 2022, the Portuguese government reports, a system for the storage of plastic, glass, ferrous and aluminium beverage containers with a non-reusable deposit will become mandatory.
According to the bill, all consumers who deliver plastic beverage containers to large retail outlets will receive a premium, which will be determined by the Ministry of the Environment.
Retailer Obligation
The measure provides that large-scale retailers (supermarkets and hypermarkets) are 'obliged to make available space in the establishment, free of charge, to instal the equipment' for exchanging the bottles for a premium.
Article 23 further states that 'by the end of the third quarter of 2021, the government shall submit to the Assembly of the Republic an evaluation report on the impact of the implementation of the incentive system.'
Finally, the law also obliges shopping premises 'to instal [...] an area duly indicated and exclusively dedicated to the trade of beverages in reusable or 100% biodegradable containers'.
According to Dinheiro Vivo, the new measure comes after the EU issued a warning that Portugal would be one of the countries at risk of not meeting the target of recycling 50% of domestic waste by 2020.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
