The environmental organization Zero today considered the Deposit and Refund System (SDR) of disposable packaging, whose regulations are being finalized, a “bureaucratic, inefficient solution that makes an effective system in a tangle of complexities”.
In a statement, Zero said that, with almost two years of delay in terms of implementation, the Government “finally” proposed the model for the SDR, approved by the Assembly of the Republic in 2018 and which should have come into operation in January 2022.
“In spite of benchmarking studies carried out and the best experiences in European countries that have had similar systems for a long time and which point to the simplicity of the system being a key element in its effectiveness, the Government decided innovate. To this end, it proposes a bureaucratic, inefficient solution that turns an effective system into a tangle of complexities that, if implemented, will further delay the process of implementing the SDR”, he considered.
The association highlighted that, in the proposal, the Government “offers” municipalities and waste management systems the collection of packaging included in the SDR, “creating a fragmented, bureaucratic and inefficient system”.
“It goes so far as to mention that municipalities and multi-municipal waste management systems will have to authorize collection points, when in the text of the proposal it considers them mandatory (if a given establishment sells packaging integrated into the system it must accept its return )”, he highlighted.
In addition to this flaw, Zero points out another that is based on the fact that the proposal does not include glass packaging, a material for which Portugal “has not met the recycling target for decades and for which there is no credible plan to change this situation”, he stressed. .
“The current Government’s proposal is to do more of the same and expect different results, through disinvestment in reuse, which will impede any progress in terms of preventing packaging waste”, he highlighted.
In July, the association candidate for the management of the future Deposit and Refund System of non-reusable beverage packaging SDR Portugal and ADIPA – Association of Product Distributors signed an agreement to raise awareness of this future mechanism.
“By signing this protocol, both associations sign the development of synergies aimed at disseminating information and training on SDR and joint collaboration in various initiatives – events, studies and working groups – opportune for the good implementation of SDR in Portugal ”, they said in a joint statement.
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