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Outdated information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.”