The Volta system, in operation since 10 April, states on its website that it has more than 3,000 points in the country, which allow consumers to recover the deposit value of R$ 0.10 per package paid when purchasing single-use bottles and cans, made of plastic, metal and aluminium and smaller than three litres.
In a search for collection points indicated by the system, on 27 August, 16 of the 308 municipalities in the country do not have any indication of points and kiosks that "allow for easy delivery of packaging and guarantee the return of the deposit value".
Municipalities without Volta points
The municipalities without any Volta points on the website are Alcoutim (in the Faro district), Alvito and Barrancos (Beja), Fronteira and Marvão (Portalegre), Mora and Mourão (Évora), Sardoal (Santarém), Penedono and Sernancelhe (Viseu), Oleiros (Castelo Branco), Ribeira de Pena and Santa Marta de Penaguião (Vila Real), Vimioso (Bragança), Lajes do Pico and Corvo (Azores).
When questioned about the absence of the system in the 16 municipalities, SDR Portugal told Lusa that, in total, the entity has "303 municipalities with registered Volta points" and that the municipalities where they do not have a registration are Alcoutim, Mora, Ribeira de Pena, Santa Marta de Penaguião and Corvo.
The same official source states that all other municipalities that are not on the platform “have registered collection points” and are not on the website because it has not yet been updated.
“We cannot update every day, every hour, but it is being updated,” the SDR source added.
Outdated information
However, in the municipality of Oleiros, which the SDR says already has a collection point but is not yet listed on the website, the mayor, Miguel Marques (PSD), reiterated to Lusa that there is no Volta equipment in the municipality.
Faced with this scenario, the population of Oleiros has to travel 50 kilometres to Sertã (25 kilometres each way) to place their plastic bottles and cans at a Volta collection point.
According to the mayor, residents feel harmed by the system.
“People are expressing their dissatisfaction and sharing this criticism, even on social media, but when we try to understand how the system works, it seems that it has to be located near a medium or large hypermarket,” said the mayor.
In addition to the municipality
Although the change in the situation does not depend on the municipality, Miguel Marques says he is “available to be part of the solution,” because “the population of Oleiros must have the same access and the same rights as the rest of the population, and should not have to pay 10 cents more for each package, but then have to spend more on fuel to get rid of that deposit.”
In the municipality of Mourão, in the district of Évora, also without any Volta collection point, the mayor, João Fortes (PSD/CDS-PP), told the Lusa news agency that he had never been contacted about installing one of these kiosks.
“Mourão does not have any collection kiosks for this new system, and there has never been any awareness campaign for their placement, neither with the city hall nor with commercial operators,” he reported.
Lack of public interest
According to the mayor, the population has also “not yet given any indication that they want or are interested” in a collection point for the Volta system, with “the closest” one located in the neighbouring municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz.
“For now, there has been no public pressure in this regard. And no contact from those who manage the network to create a collection point here,” so “we will await this contact,” he added.
In Mora, the president of the local authority, Luís Simão (CDU), stated that the machine “is not yet operational,” but “has already been acquired” and “is already, in fact, on site,” at the commercial establishment that will collect the packaging, presuming “that it will be operational very soon.”
Long commutes
Due to the lack of the machines, the mayor explained, the population of Mora had to travel to neighbouring municipalities, which are “around 35 to 40 kilometres away,” and “people were already questioning why it’s everywhere and not in Mora yet.”
“If people are paying for packaging, it’s natural that they should be reimbursed for it. The system was set up this way, so it doesn’t make sense that any citizen who pays the amount shouldn’t be reimbursed, just because they are in a small municipality,” he reasoned.
This is in a municipality that, Luís Simão pointed out, is part of the Intermunicipal System for the Valorisation and Treatment of Urban Waste in the District of Évora, and at the district level is one of the “municipalities with the highest ‘per capita’ collection rate in terms of recycling.”
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How I use volta, almost every time: I place my recyclables in my shopping bag and walk them to Auchan. The volta machine is full. I walk a few minutes to Continente. The machine is full. I walk farther and check Pingo Doce. The machine is full. I throw my recyclables in the trash can, which leads to the landfill, so I will have room in the bag for transporting my groceries.
Before volta, I used to put my recyclables in the appropriate "plastico" cans on the ground floor of my apartment building, which was very convenient. Now after an ordeal and inevitable disappointment, my recyclables go to the landfill almost every time. Thanks to the rarely-functioning volta machines, my recycling rate has gone from 100% to maybe 20%, and my beverages all cost more.
By responsible recycler from USA on 30 Aug 2026, 01:21
This Volta company is completely useless and incompetent and should be sued. It´s not only in the provinces. In my neighbourhood in Arroios/Graca in Lisbon, every time I try to return my bottles and cans, 80% of the Volta machines are either full, out of order of simply shut down to prevent the street collectors with their huge bags to stuff them, which, if they do, shuts down the machines again. So, you are collecting 10c for each of my bottles but make it a nightmare to return them? Shame on you!
By Arno from Lisbon on 30 Aug 2026, 04:23
Out of approx 30 bottles only 10 were accepted. Maachines are full or not working. The Volta ensignia was clearly on the bottle but it would not recycle.
By J.McGill from Algarve on 30 Aug 2026, 14:27
When they first introduced this I said it wouldn't work and low and behold guess what.
By Peter from Other on 30 Aug 2026, 18:42