Portugal will ban the sale of drink bottles and cans that do not carry the "Volta" deposit symbol starting Monday, August 10.
The rule marks the end of a four-month transition period that let producers and retailers sell off remaining stock of old packaging without the symbol.
Portugal's national deposit-and-refund system for packaging, called Volta, began operating on April 10. Under the system, consumers pay an extra 10 cents for plastic bottles up to three liters and for soda cans, and get that money back when they return the empty containers to collection machines.
Ten million containers collected so far
In the system's first three months of operation, ten million packages were collected.
Portugal's Environment Agency, the Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente, has set a target of collecting 90% of packaging by 2029, in line with rules set by the European Union.
Correio da Manhã has separately reported that 21 million euros a year in packaging deposits are at risk of not reaching consumers.
The paper has also reported that a petition against the Volta system has surpassed 15,000 signatures and will be debated in Portugal's Parliament.
