Portugal: deposit scheme causes rubbish problem
Portugal implemented the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) in April with the introduction of the Volta bottle deposit scheme. However, the system is now under fire: Lisbon's mayor Carlos Moedas has called on the government to scrap it on the grounds that it encourages the city's homeless to rummage through bins in search of returnable bottles, scattering rubbish on the street in the process.
Making poverty more visible
The problem is not the recycling system, Jornal de Notícias points out:
“The end of Volta will not change a single figure in the statistics on homelessness and poverty in Portugal. One could argue that it has made the phenomenon of waste collection – which already existed, particularly in the case of metals collection – more visible, with the corresponding consequences for urban cleanliness. Those with no other source of income seek out the guaranteed few cents they receive for the deposit on every bottle or can that others have discarded without bothering to take it to the recycling bins. ... Volta is not a magic solution. Yet in a country with shamefully low plastic recycling rates, reverse vending machines make an important contribution.”
What about the mayor's promises?
Rubbish is a structural problem in Lisbon that Moedas has failed to solve, writes Público:
“It is now up to Carlos Moedas to resolve the already existing problem which he pledged to solve in his campaign: the collection of unsorted rubbish six days a week across the entire city, which in some areas means doubling the number of collection days. This measure falls within the remit of the city council and has not yet been implemented owing to a lack of funds. Carlos Moedas has announced the purchase of refuse trucks and the recruitment of drivers and street cleaners. Now all that remains is to clarify the main issue: when will waste be collected across the entire city on a daily basis, as announced?”