Portugal's €0.10 Bottle Deposit: What You Can Return

The consumer rules cover single-use plastic drinks bottles and metal cans of up to and including 3 litres, carrying the Volta mark and a registered barcode. Glass, drinks cartons and reusable bottles are outside this scheme. Water, soft drinks, juices and beer are ordinary examples, provided the individual container qualifies.

Older legal summaries sometimes say less than 3 litres. Volta and the APA/DGE consumer guidance say 3 litres or less. The latter wording includes a marked, registered 3-litre container.

Yes. APA/DGE's dated guidance says the EU rules apply from 12 August 2026. It lists exclusions for specified wine products, other fermented drinks under customs code 2206, spirits under code 2208, and milk and dairy products. It also says plant-based drinks and qualifying bottles filled at the point of sale enter scope from that date.

Volta’s FAQ still mentions the earlier exclusion for drinks with more than 25% dairy ingredients. For milk-based drinks, cider or mixed alcoholic drinks, the registered barcode is therefore the practical check at the return point. If you paid a deposit and the container is rejected, show the receipt to staff.

Return machines need to recognise the container and read its barcode. Prepare it as follows.

If a marked container is rejected, ask staff to check it. A full machine or an unreadable barcode is different from a container being outside the scheme.

The deposit is charged separately from the drink price and is not subject to VAT. Depending on the return point, refunds may be available as vouchers, cash, loyalty credit or supported digital payments. Donation is also an option. Check the available method before confirming the return.

Shops with at least 400 m² of sales area must accept all eligible containers. Those above 50 m² and below 400 m² normally accept the eligible drinks containers they sell. An automatic return point accepts the system's eligible containers more broadly. Shops of 50 m² or less are exempt, as are qualifying shops where food sales represent less than 10% of turnover. Some intermediate shops can obtain a formal exemption.

You can use a participating return point elsewhere, rather than going back to the original shop. Volta reports more than 3,000 automatic points and is adding 50 larger kiosks in stages. Its locator shows where to take your containers.

Marked and unmarked stock could coexist during the transition ending on 9 August 2026. An old unmarked container has no Volta refund. Put it in the appropriate recycling collection. The purchase date does not turn an unmarked bottle into an eligible one.