Tugadaily bar chart of containers returned to Portugal's Volta scheme: 10 million at two months, 100 million at three months and 305 million at five months

Business 11 September 2026

Portugal's deposit-return scheme has taken back 305 million containers in five months

Volta launched on 10 April and has tripled in the last two months: 100 million at the three-month mark, 305 million at five. The system now averages about five million returns a day.

Portugal’s deposit-return system for drinks containers went live on 10 April and, five months on, has taken back more than 305 million single-use bottles and cans.

The curve says more than the total. Two months in, more than 10 million containers had come back. At three months, 100 million. At five, 305 million. The number tripled over the last two months, which is exactly how a scheme behaves when the habit takes a while to form and then forms all at once.

The rate it runs at now

The average is around five million containers a day, or more than 3,400 a minute. That works out at roughly 57 returns every second, every day, across supermarket and hypermarket machines, standalone kiosks and manual points in smaller shops.

Each container is worth ten cents, the deposit paid at the till. The refund comes as a voucher redeemable for cash or against the shopping, digitally, or it can be donated to a charity.

The rules that decide whether the machine says yes

The conditions are where people trip up. The container must be empty, not crushed, with the cap still on, carrying the Volta symbol, and with a readable barcode. Miss one of those and the machine hands the bottle back without handing over the money. The system’s frequently asked questions page walks through each case.

Portugal gets through roughly 2.1 billion drinks containers a year, and the yardstick that counts is the EU target of 90% separate collection of single-use plastic bottles by 2029, set in the single-use plastics directive. At 305 million in five months, the annualised pace still sits well short of that — though the last two months are the argument used by anyone claiming the system is still picking up speed.

Not everything has run smoothly since April. In August, bottles without the Volta symbol were still on shelves, and their deposit is not refundable, a leftover-stock effect that caused plenty of confusion at the counter.

By Beatriz Mota

Chart: Tugadaily · Source: Sistema Volta

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