According to data from the Integrated Packaging Waste Management System (SIGRE) released in a statement by Sociedade Ponto Verde (SPV), Portugal "will only meet the [established] target if each Portuguese recycles two more glass bottles per month".

SPV welcomes the fact that the Portuguese continue to recycle "more and more", having collected 108,368 tons of packaging at national ecopoints in the first quarter of 2023, which means an increase of 3%, compared to the same period of 2022.

"The country thus continues to achieve packaging recycling targets, with the exception of glass, which deserves particular attention", concludes the institution, which organizes and manages the recovery and recovery of packaging waste, implementing SIGRE.

According to the available data, glass recycling in the same period was approximately one ton less than in the first quarter of 2022, "inverting a growth trend observed over the last two years".

The current national recycling rate of this material is 56% and the goal is to reach 75% by 2025, with "greater mobilization by all Portuguese being essential".

The company manager encourages "all Portuguese people to recycle more packaging, namely glass", an area in which "the challenge is greater", but insists that other materials should not be forgotten, such as aluminium, paper/cardboard or plastic.

Performance data from SIGRE, in the first quarter of 2023, also reveal that 36,620 tons of paper/cardboard (+9%) and 19,589 tons of plastic (+2%) were sent for recycling.

According to SPV, the most significant growth was seen in cardboard packaging for liquid foods (ECAL), whose recycling amounted to 2,161 tonnes (+10%).