Portugal’s packaging recycling grows slightly despite investment
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In Portugal, packaging recycling increased by only one percent during the first nine months of 2026, even with a 9.2 million euro increase in funding for selective collection and sorting operations compared to the same period last year.
Sociedade Ponto Verde (SPV), an organization involved in packaging waste management, is questioning whether the investment is effective and is requesting more transparency in how funds are used.
From January to September, collection points received 373,182 tons of packaging, an increase of 4,194 tons from 2025. The funding for collection and sorting, distributed through Counterpart Values, rose by 5.9 percent according to data released by SPV. This increase follows a 90 million euro boost to funding from SPV and other management entities in 2025. SPV anticipates that the total investment in the system will nearly double between 2024 and 2026.
However, SPV’s CEO, Ana Trigo Morais, believes the gains in recycling rates are not keeping pace with the increased financial resources. SPV suggests creating a unified registry and common database to compare indicators, evaluate measures, and monitor the performance of the collection and sorting system. The organization also proposes establishing a National Waste Observatory to centralize information and support data-driven decision-making.
In 2025, Portugal achieved a packaging waste recovery rate of 60.5 percent, falling short of the current 65 percent target.
