Portugal Collected Only 32 Percent of Its Electrical Waste in 2024, Half the EU Target, and One in Six Has Binned Small Gadgets
Zero says Portugal gathered just 32 percent of its electrical waste in 2024 against a 65 percent target, and an Electrão survey finds one in six people have put small devices in ordinary rubbish. Where to take them instead.
Portugal collected and treated just 32 percent of its waste electrical and electronic equipment in 2024, according to the environmental association Zero, which cites the latest official figures from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA). That is less than half the 65 percent collection target that Portuguese law has set since 2019, in line with EU rules.
Zero made the point on International E-Waste Day, Wednesday 14 October, calling the situation a "debacle". The same day, the recycling body Electrão published a survey suggesting many people still bin small devices wrongly.
Zero blames three public bodies
According to Lusa, as reported by RTP, Zero holds the Environment Ministry, APA and the Directorate-General for Economic Activities (DGAE) responsible. This year marks 20 years of SIGREEE, the national collection system, which Zero calls two decades of "boycotts and illegalities".
The association says that until 2018, APA let electrical waste shredded at scrap-metal plants count towards the targets of the two licensed compliance schemes, Electrão and ERP, with no evidence that it had been decontaminated. Once that stopped, the schemes never met their targets again. Zero argues that the waste management fee they paid for missing them, 10 euros a tonne, was so low that poor handling still paid. It adds that the ministry has pushed the EU target deadline back to 2030, and that the waste monitoring committee, CAGER, has been idle for two years.
Zero warns that from 2027, the state could face an EU bill of "several hundred million euros" for electrical waste that is not properly managed.
Cheap gadgets, wrong bins
The survey, run for the WEEE Forum, covered "fast tech" such as cheap chargers, cables and earphones. In July it polled 10,245 adults in 12 European countries, 503 of them in Portugal.
In Portugal, 82.5 percent of respondents had bought at least one such item in the past year, and a third of buyers kept devices at home that they no longer used. Some 17.8 percent had put small electricals in ordinary rubbish, and 29.8 percent had left them in street litter bins or the yellow packaging bin. Just 41.9 percent had taken them to a collection point or a municipal ecocentro. Across all 12 countries, 38.6 percent said they had thrown away at least one device without using it, after a single use or within a month.
Where to take old electricals
Electrão lists drop-off points on ondereciclar.pt. It has about 18,000 collection points around the country, according to Lusa via Observador. Shops also have duties under Decreto-Lei n.º 152-D/2017. When you buy a new appliance, the seller must take back an equivalent old one free of charge, one for one, and collect it free on home deliveries. Shops with at least 400 square metres of electrical sales space must also accept very small items (no side longer than 25 centimetres) free of charge, with no purchase needed.
A reminder: the trade-in discount starts in December
From 1 December 2026, Portaria n.º 222-A/2026/1 brings in a discount for private buyers who hand in an old appliance at a participating shop: 35 euros for an air conditioner, 25 euros for a fridge or freezer and 20 euros for a television. The appliance must be complete. If you hand it in after the purchase, the shop refunds the discount within five working days of checking it. The Fundo Ambiental funds it for 24 months, and participating shops will be listed online.
We have also covered Portugal's urban waste recycling rate and the new 2026 to 2030 waste plan.
