Portugal has an extensive network of recycling facilities for public use. Households take their waste and recycling to the nearest ecoponto or large green skip. Ecopontos are common and come in blue, yellow, and green bins for different materials like paper, packaging, and glass. Recycling points are also found on beaches. Non-profit organizations like Sociedade Ponto Verde and RESIOESTE work to improve recycling and waste management across Portugal.

2. Recycling is a
process to change
materials into new
products.
Paper, glass, metal
and plastic can be
recycled.
recycling
extraction
transport
production
transport
installation
utilization
discard

3. Recycling in Portugal
Portugal has a very good network of recycling facilities for the
general public.
Portuguese households don’t generally have a dustbin collection
themselves.
Household waste and
recycling is taken, by the
householder, to the nearest
recycle point (ecoponto) or
large green skip (for general
waste).

4. Ecopontos are commonplace.
Blue for paper and card, yellow for packaging and green
for glass.
Recycle points - Ecopontos
There are also numerous recycle points which sometimes also
include a small orange bin, on the front or the side, for old
batteries.

5. Recycle points - Ecopontos
Even the beaches are equipped with a
basic version of the ecopontos you find
elsewhere.

6. Recycle points – Clothing
bank
Here you can put
your old clothes.

7. SPV- Sociedade Ponto Verde
Who are they? It’s a nonprofit
association with the aim of making
the country sustainable
Aims? Their mission is to manage
and organize the recovery of waste
through the Integrated
Management of Packing Waste
(Sistema Integrado de Gestão de
Resíduos de Embalagens).

8. Ponto Verde in Portugal –
Caldas da Rainha
Number of:
Recycle centres .................................................................11
Recycle points ............................................................. 5 514
Green recycle points ................................................... 5.634
Blue recycle points ...................................................... 5.515
Yellow recycle points .................................................. 5.009
Land fill ......................................................................... 2
Screening station .......................................................... 2
Waste transfer station .................................................. 6
Organic recycling station ............................................ 1
Door to door collection – serves a population of: ..... 236.968

9. VALORMED
Who are they? It was created in
1999. It’s a non profit association.
Aims? It has the
responsability of managing
waste of empty containers of
medicines discarded.

10. RESIOESTE
Who are they? Empresa Geral
do Fomento (EGF) is responsible
for ensuring the treatment and
recovery of waste contributing
to improving the quality of life
and the environment.
What do they do? They work
in the area of integrated
municipal solid waste of 60%
of Portuguese population(6,4
millions of inhabitants) that
produce 3.7 million tons of
waste annually.

11. Other associations
that help
Invironment in
Portugal

12. AGROBIO - Associação Portuguesa de Agricultura Biológica
Almargem - Associação de Defesa do Património Cultural e
Ambiental
Amigos dos Açores - Associaçao Ecológica
http://www.agrobio.pt/pt/
http://www.almargem.org/
http://www.amigosdosacores.pt/

13. CPADA - Confederação Portuguesa das Associações de Defesa
do Ambiente
GEOTA - Grupo de Estudos do Ordenamento do Território e
Ambiente
ASPEA - Associaçao Portuguesa de Educação Ambiental
http://www.cpada.pt/
http://www.geota.pt/scid/geotawebpage/
http://www.aspea.org/

14. LPN - Liga para a Protecçao da Natureza
Planeta Verde - Associaçao para a Protecçao e Defesa da
Floresta
QUERCUS - Associação Nacional de Conservação da Natureza
http://www.lpn.pt/
http://www.quercus.pt/

15. Carolina Santos and Inês Morgado
Agrupamento de Escolas Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro