Get Paid to Recycle: Mercadona Launches Deposit Return Scheme for Bottles and Cans

Mercadona has launched a deposit return scheme for empty bottles and cans in Portugal from April 2026. Customers can bring empty plastic bottles or aluminium cans to a dedicated machine and receive €0.10 per item. The system went live on April 10 and operates across all 72 of the chain's Portuguese stores.

The initiative is a response to new environmental legislation coming into force in Portugal, which requires retail chains to implement a deposit, return, and refund system known as SDDR. The goal is to stop the daily loss of around four million units of packaging and move toward a circular materials economy.

A similar system will arrive in Spain once the relevant legislation is passed. In 2023, Spain was required to recycle 70% of bottles, but according to the Ministry for Ecological Transition, it achieved only 41.3%. Spain, like other European countries, is now obliged to introduce a paid bottle and can return scheme under Law 7/2022 on Waste and Contaminated Soil. The implementing regulation is expected by the end of 2026, though a delay to 2027 cannot be ruled out.

Mercadona confirmed to Las Provincias journalists that it will introduce the paid return scheme for bottles and cans in its Spanish stores as soon as the law comes into force.