Sorting and Recycling

The producer/importer is always responsible for the final destination of batteries and accumulators. They must deliver the materials to licensed companies for recovery or disposal. If you buy new batteries, you should return the old ones to the place of purchase.

Delivery points

• Valorsul recyclingcenter Sorting of recyclable materials (up to 4 units/week)
• Valorcar Network Centers

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) drop-off points

• Waste reception centers
• Valorsul Ecocentro
• Entrajuda For social purposes
• Ponto Eletrão Household appliances smaller than 55 cm
• Collection by Lisbon City Council of large WEEE from households, on request

Types of WEEE

• Large domestic appliances
• Small domestic appliances
• Computer and telecommunications equipment
• Consumer equipment (Hi-Fi, camcorders, etc.)
• Lighting equipment
• Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large fixed industrial tools)
• Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products)
• Monitoring and control instruments (scales, etc.)
• Automatic dispensers

They should be handed in, as long as they are in one piece, preferably at the place where you bought the new ones.

They can also be handed in at the network of WEEE collection points (see "Electrical and Electronic Equipment" on this page) and at the city's waste reception points.

Reuse before recycling

Even before recycling paint cans, there are other ways to reduce the impact of paints and their packaging on the environment.

One of them is reuse. Look for associations or charities that need paint.

Recycling paint cans. How to do it?

If what's left inside the paint container or can is residual, you should cover it well and put it in the yellow recycling bin.

If you are a professional, you should contact an operator to dispose of these products. Access the Portuguese Environment Agency's Waste Management Operations Licensing Information System to find out where you can deliver the waste.

Wood up to 2^m3/week can be delivered to the Valorsu Ecocentro - Recyclable Materials Sorting Center

For larger quantities, interested parties should request delivery from Valorsul or authorized companies (see list from the Portuguese Environment Agency).

Pharmacies are permanent reception points for medicine packaging and expired medicines.

For more information, please contact Valormed.

Collected and sent by Lisbon City Council to Valorsul's sorting center

Did you know that by flushing your used cooking oil down the toilet or sink drain you are polluting the environment? And that 1 liter of household oil discarded in this way can contaminate 1 million liters of water?

Cooking oil is made up of a mixture of unsaturated fatty acids that are not soluble in water due to their different densities. As a result, oils that are discharged into the sewer will cause pollution of the water, soil, damage to the sewage system and the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP), and even have repercussions on the climate.

What oils can you put in the oil pan?
Vegetable oils such as sunflower, soybean, palm and rapeseed, olive oil and canning oils.

Where should you put your OAU?
After use, you should pour the cold used oil into a plastic bottle (e.g. a used soda bottle or the oil itself) with the help of a funnel and when it's full you should put it in an oleão (identified equipment that Lisbon City Council provides at locations near you). See the list of addresses.

You can also deliver this type of waste for recycling to Lisbon's Waste Reception Centers

How are your UCOs recovered?
The oil deposited is then transformed into biodiesel (1000 liters of used oil can produce between 920 and 980 liters of biodiesel) and also into soap, candles, oil, varnish, paints, etc.

What you can't put in the oil can:

• lubricating oil from engines (as this is hazardous waste which prevents the recovery of used cooking oil);
• margarine and other food waste resulting from frying (which should be thrown away).

It is forbidden to dispose of lubricating or mineral oils (generally used in vehicle engines or as lubricants) in drains or on the ground.

Manufacturers of this type of waste pay an environmental fee for its treatment. Therefore, they are obliged to take back the used oil when you buy a new one. Car workshops must take back used oil when an oil change is carried out.

Alternatively, lubricating oils can be delivered to Valorsul's Ecocentro -Triagem de materiais recicláveis, as long as they are not contaminated with water and for quantities of up to 50 liters per week.

For large quantities or regular production, please contact the waste management company Sogilub.

Battery sales outlets, as well as supermarkets and hypermarkets, are obliged to accept used batteries and accumulators of the type they sell, in exchange and free of charge. To this end, it is compulsory to have receptacles for this purpose on the premises, in a well-identified and accessible place.

The municipality also ensures the collection of batteries through the bins installed next to the recycling bins, in eco-islands or attached to glass containers(see location)

Valorsul's Ecocentro - Recyclable Materials Sorting also collects this waste, as long as the amount does not exceed 500 grams per week.

More information

Responsibility for collecting used tires lies with the producer, who transfers it to a management entity - Valorpneu - Sistema de Gestão de Pneus Usados (SGPU). Its purpose is to organize and manage the system for collecting and disposing of used tires.

On the Valorpneu website you can find the reception centers for this type of waste.

When you buy new tires, you pay an environmental fee to finance their proper treatment after use. When buying new tires, the company is obliged to receive the used tires in exchange.

There are periodic campaigns to collect X-rays by delivering them to pharmacies.
For deliveries outside this period, you can contact Assistência Médica Internacional - AMI

Contractors or promoters of works that produce Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) are responsible for its management, which can only be carried out by duly authorized operators.

Regardless of the quantity produced, Lisbon City Council is responsible for CDW from works that are exempt from a permit or have not been submitted to prior notification.

For quantities of up to 1^m3, and after evaluation, the municipality's services remove and forward the CDW for treatment free of charge, at an agreed date, time and place. For quantities of more than 1^m3, this waste can be removed for a fee, in accordance with the Price List and Other Municipal Revenues.

This type of waste should be disposed of together with the corresponding bottle, jar or package.

There are national organizations that collect plastic caps and send them to social organizations.

Used toners and ink cartridges can be sent to AMI or to other operators authorized by the Portuguese Environment Agency.

End-of-life vehicles must be handed over to an authorized operator for dismantling, free of charge. The list of authorized operators is available on the Valorcar website. The operator will issue a certificate of destruction, which will be used to cancel the registration so that the owner can stop paying the tax on the vehicle in question.

Residents can also voluntarily hand over their car at the end of its life, free of charge to the Municipal Police, by contacting them and filling in a declaration to hand over the vehicle to Lisbon City Council, which will then deliver it to authorized operators who are Valorcar delivery points.

The Municipal Police are responsible for collecting vehicles abandoned on public roads. It is advisable to hand them in voluntarily, as the owners of abandoned vehicles must pay the corresponding road tax as long as they have not deregistered them.