Waste

Recycling - specific waste streams

The "Recycling - specific waste streams" fact sheet compares the annual recycling rates with the national targets set for the various specific waste streams.
Description: 

One of the objectives of the integrated environmental policy is the attribution of total or partial, physical and/or financial responsibility to the producer for the environmental impacts associated with the corresponding products, namely those resulting from the production process and the subsequent use of the product, and those associated with product management when it reaches the end of its life cycle.

The life cycle of a given material usually comprises five phases: Raw material extraction (resource), production (product), trading, consumption and management as waste.

In practice, extended producer responsibility - which translates into the obligation to take back and recover materials and meet quantified reuse/recycling targets - encourages him to change the design of his product. Such strategy normally has an impact on the eco-efficiency of products (use of smaller quantities of raw material or use of recyclable/recycled materials, among others), as well as in its eco design (easier to dismantle or recycle, lower hazardous substance content, among others).

Furthermore, producer accountability has the advantage of triggering a chain reaction, throughout the production-trade-consumption-post-consumption cycle, in which every player passes on some of his responsibility to the next player in the chain. As an essential part of this system, there are waste management entities, which allow these different players to work together in the pursuit of common objectives.

The producer's extended responsibility can be assumed individually or by joining an integrated system. As an essential part of this latter system, specific waste stream management entities were created, allowing for very specific interfaces between the different players in the product life cycle (product producer, product retailer/distributor, waste producer, waste management operator) for the pursuit of common objectives. In this case, the producer of the product transfers responsibility for managing the specific waste stream to these management entities, through the payment of an annual financial amount (ecovalor).

These are the basic reasons why, in recent years, both at national and EU level, we have witnessed the emergence of integrated waste management systems, which, in our country, are already in place for the following specific waste streams: packaging and packaging waste, used oils, used tyres, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and accumulators and end-of-life vehicles.

"Recycling" means any recovery operation, including the reprocessing of organic materials, by which the constituent materials of waste are again transformed in products, materials or substances for their original purpose or for other purposes, but which do not include energy recovery or reprocessing of materials that should be used as fuel or in filling operations.

This fact sheet concerns mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and Azores and shall be updated on an annual basis.

Objectives and targets: 

Increase the recycling rates obtained annually for each stream, in order to meet the national targets set forth in the specific legislation and identified below.

As can be seen in the following table, the recycling targets to be reached and their calculation methods vary from stream to stream, due to the specificities associated with each one, and the results obtained are not comparable between streams.

 

Specific waste stream Deadline Benchmark and recycling target
Packaging and Packaging Waste 31 December 2011 55% recycling of packaging waste production
Used lubricant oils annual 75% recycling of collected used lubricant oils
Used tyres annual 65% recycling of used tyres collected
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Waste From 15 August 2018 Categories 1 (Temperature regulation equipment) and 4 (Equipment with large external dimensions greater than 50 cm): 85% must be recovered; 80% must be prepared for reuse and recycling
Categories 1 (Temperature regulation equipment) and 4 (Equipment with large external dimensions greater than 50 cm): 85% must be recovered; 80% must be prepared for reuse and recycling
Category 3 (Lamps): 80% must be recycled
Categories 5 (Small equipment with no external dimension greater than 50 cm) and 6 (Small computer and telecommunications equipment with no external dimension greater than 50 cm): 75% must be recovered; 55% must be prepared for reuse and recycling
End-of-Life Vehicles 1 January 2006 Reuse and recycling of all ELVs at least 80% in weight, on average, per vehicle and per year
1 January 2015 Reuse and recycling of all ELVs at least 85% in weight, on average, per vehicle and per year
Construction and Demolition Waste 2020 Reuse, recycling and recovery, including filling operations (excluding natural materials outlined in categoris 17 05 04 and 17 05 06 of the waste list) of at least 70%, of non-hazardous CDW, in weight and per year

 

Waste streams from Batteries and Accumulators and Used Food Oils have no established recycling goal. However, there is a target for the collection of waste streams from Batteries and Accumulators, defined in the Community directive and national legislation, whose value is 45%, to be fulfilled until 31 December 2015, remaining unchanged until the present.

Progress analysis:

Recycling rates obtained in specific waste streams

Notas: (1) The recycling rate obtained in the End of Life Vehicle stream includes reuse; (2) Although there are targets established in the national legislation regarding used tires, the targets contained in the license of the managing entity for the integrated used tire system were considered for the evaluation, since the license of the managing entity, in force, already considers the new definitions of the Waste Framework Directive; (3) The recycling rate obtained for CDW includes preparation for reuse and other forms of material recovery, including filling operations; (4) Estimated 2016 national ELV rates; (5) ULO data refer to those covered by the managing entity's license.
Source: APA, 2021

In the packaging and packaging waste stream, the target was reached with a recycling rate of 63% in 2019.

For used lubricant oils, the recycling rate was 91% in 2019, exceeding the set national target. The performance of the entity managing for this flow allowed for the fulfilment of the target defined in the respective license.

For the assessment of the targets for used tires, those contained in the license of the managing entity of the integrated system were considered, with the rate achieved (62%) falling short of the established target of 65%.

As for end-of-life vehicles, the national reuse/recycling rates obtained have enabled the achievement of the national and EU target defined in 2006 (80%). However, the most demanding target for reuse/recycling (85%) was not met, standing 1% below what is determined by law.

The Construction and Demolition Waste flow, despite being a specific waste flow, is not covered by the producer's extended responsibility. The data collected regarding the Construction and Demolition Waste flow for the years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 ensures compliance with the target established for 2020.

For portable batteries and accumulator waste streams there is no associated recycling rate but there is a collection rate. In 2017 the value of this rate was 39.5%, in 2018 it was 31.0% and, in 2019, the same value was obtained.

As for the recycling of batteries and accumulators, national legislation stipulates that recycling operators must observe a minimum recycling yield of 65%, by mass, of waste lead-acid batteries and accumulators, including the recycling of the highest possible content of lead that is technically feasible while avoiding excessive costs.

In Portugal, there are two recycling operators for waste lead-acid accumulators, with yields of 73.7% and 71.7% respectively.

Reuse/recycling rates obtained in the WEEE stream per EEE category, in 2019

Source: APA, 2021

Regarding the EEEW flow, in 2019, the national performance with regard to collection targets was around 45%, falling short of those provided for by law for 2019 (65%). With regard to the targets for recovery, reuse / recycling, these were achieved with the exception of category 2: screens, monitors and equipment with screens with a surface of more than 100 cm2, as this equipment, in the majority, was still manufactured with hazardous components, no longer on the market for use by manufacturers. As a result of this situation, most parts were destined for disposal operations.

Last update: 
Tuesday, 21 September, 2021
More information at: 

Portuguese Environment Agency – https://apambiente.pt/residuos/fluxos-especificos-de-residuos