Portugal: deposit scheme causes rubbish problem

The problem is not the recycling system, Jornal de Notícias points out:

“The end of Volta will not change a single figure in the statistics on homelessness and poverty in Portugal. One could argue that it has made the phenomenon of waste collection – which already existed, particularly in the case of metals collection – more visible, with the corresponding consequences for urban cleanliness. Those with no other source of income seek out the guaranteed few cents they receive for the deposit on every bottle or can that others have discarded without bothering to take it to the recycling bins. … Volta is not a magic solution. Yet in a country with shamefully low plastic recycling rates, reverse vending machines make an important contribution.”