On July 2nd, Nova School of Business & Economics (Nova SBE) welcomed the Minister of Environment and Energy Transition to its campus, to inaugurate the first pilot project for a mandatory container deposit scheme in Portugal. This project will be operated in partnership with TOMRA, the well-known Norwegian multinational specializing in recycling solutions and will be located in both the Municipality of Cascais and on the Carcavelos Campus.
Following the EU Plastics Strategy, Nova SBE and the Municipality of Cascais joined TOMRA in implementing the first pilot project for a mandatory container deposit scheme for beverages in Portugal. The on-campus equipment will enable consumers to receive a monetary refund against their recycling deposit, thereby diminishing the environmental impact and promoting the act of recycling.
The Portuguese Minister of Environment and Energy Transition, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, was at Nova SBE to launch this initiative, alongside João Ataíde, Secretary of State of Environment, Carlos Carreiras, President of the Municipality of Cascais, and Daniel Traça, Dean of Nova SBE. This system, which is already operating in several European countries (Germany, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, the Netherlands, and Sweden), finally arrives at Nova SBE and in the Municipality of Cascais. Until the end of August, for each container deposited, 0,15€ will be donated to the Centro Comunitário da Paróquia de Carcavelos. From early September, all paid beverage containers on campus will have a small monetary deposit that will be reimbursed to consumers if they return those containers to the TOMRA machines.
With this pilot, Nova SBE intends to contribute to the knowledge and testing of alternative solutions that allow for the execution of this mandatory deposit scheme (which will officially begin in Portugal starting January 1st , 2022). Through this initiative, Nova SBE assumes the commitment it made when it signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and continues its commitment to a sustainable community on and off campus.