Market

Portugal will introduce its national Portugal Deposit Return System for beverage packaging on 10 April 2026. The system, branded Volta, is operated by SDR Portugal: Associação de Embaladores and applies to single-use beverage containers below three litres made of plastic, aluminium and steel. A deposit of €0.10 is charged per container. The IT platform provided by Sensoneo supports system operations, including container registration, collection processes, reverse logistics and financial clearing.

Fashion for Good has launched Project FAE (Feedstock Activation Europe) to develop sorting and pre-processing infrastructure for post-consumer textile feedstock. The initiative aims to enable the supply of non-rewearable textiles to textile-to-textile recycling at industrial scale.

RWE has installed a CO₂-reduced offshore wind turbine at the Thor offshore wind farm off Denmark’s west coast. The turbine combines a steel tower produced with reduced emissions and rotor blades designed for recycling. The installation forms part of the 1.1 gigawatt Thor project, where 72 turbines with a capacity of up to 15 megawatts each are scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.

Sesotec GmbH and WeSort.AI GmbH are expanding their partnership to further develop AI-supported sorting technologies for the recycling industry. The focus is on increasing operational safety and improving process efficiency in waste treatment facilities.

Liebherr will present its portfolio of machines and digital applications for waste management and recycling at IFAT. The focus will be on material handling machines, wheel loaders and solutions for battery dismantling and digital monitoring.

EU environmental economy employment increased from 3.6 million full-time equivalents in 2014 to 5.8 million in 2023, representing an increase of 2.2 million and an average annual growth rate of 5.5%.

Steinert will present updated and new sorting technologies at IFAT 2026 in Munich (Hall B6, Stand 451/552). The portfolio includes developments in aluminium sorting, AI-supported applications for PET recycling and solutions for processing construction and demolition waste as well as glass. In addition, the company will provide information on service concepts aimed at maintaining and optimising plant performance throughout the lifecycle.

At IFAT Munich 2026, around 50 startups will present technological developments for the environmental sector. In the Startup Area in Hall C4, international young companies will focus on applications for water management, recycling and the circular economy. Key technological approaches include artificial intelligence, sensor systems and bio-based processes, which are gaining relevance for material recovery and resource efficiency.

The European Electronics Recyclers Association (EERA) has appointed Vanya Veras as Secretary General with effect from 1 April 2026. She succeeds Julie-Ann Adams, who concluded her term at the end of March after more than four years.

Malta has introduced a central voucher validation platform within its deposit return scheme (DRS) to improve the security and traceability of voucher redemption processes. The system, developed by Sensoneo, is operated nationwide by BCRS Malta. It enables real-time validation of deposit vouchers, supports fraud prevention and establishes a cen-tralised framework for financial settlement across reverse vending machine (RVM) net-works and retail systems.

In 2024, the amount of municipal waste generated per person in the EU corresponded to 517 kg, 6 kg more than in 2023 (511 kg). Compared with 2014, the amount increased by 38 kg (+8%).