Repair Café Algarve
Repair Café Algarve is a project created and organized by Associação Benfazer. Its team of repairers participate in events throughout the Al…
Zero Waste Living
A society without a bin: bulk grocers like Maria Granel, the refill shop Mind the Trash, and Lisbon's Zero Waste Lab. Everyday proof that waste is a design flaw, not a fact of life.
Projects in this focus
Hippocampus Sabão
Hippocampus Sabão makes natural soap by hand in Tavira, Algarve, inspired by the seahorses of the Ria Formosa lagoon. It is working towards …
Bialógica – Mercearia a Granel
A bulk grocery in São Brás de Alportel, Algarve, selling organic, natural and ecological products and run on zero-waste lines.
Leafclean
LeafClean, in Faro, sells EU Ecolabel certified, cruelty-free cleaning products and runs a refill system to cut plastic waste. Its range inc…
Zero waste living in Portugal
Portuguese shopping habits made this easier than it looks: the mercearia, the market stall and the wine bottle taken back to be refilled were normal within living memory. The refill and return model revives an old system rather than inventing one.
Maria Granel opened the first bulk organic grocery in Lisbon in 2015 and Bialógica does the same in São Brás de Alportel. Mind the Trash sells refills online, Rizoma runs a cooperative storefront in Anjos, and Zero Waste Lab pilots collaborative solutions across the city.
Start with the two or three items you buy most often; nobody converts a whole household in a week. See also plastic-free alternatives, recycling systems and minimalism and conscious consumption. Dated activities from these projects are listed in our events calendar.