Citizens demand suspension of Portugal's Volta deposit-return scheme
A public petition calling for the immediate halt of the Volta deposit-return system has gathered widespread support and been submitted to the parliamentary environment committee.
A citizen-driven petition submitted to parliament on 15 August seeks the immediate suspension of Portugal's Volta deposit-return system for single-use containers. The document demands that the government, the Assembly of the Republic and the Portuguese Environment Agency replace the scheme with a model that is transparent, equitable and truly environmental. Petitioners claim the existing system transfers costs to consumers, is plagued by uncontrolled failures, and obscures who profits from it, thereby undermining its stated environmental objectives.
They also call for an independent audit of the financial, operational and environmental aspects of SDR Portugal, the association that manages the scheme. Four days after filing, the petition was sent to the Committee on Environment and Energy, where it will await deliberation.
