Sociedade Ponto Verde (SPV)

Sociedade Ponto Verde (SPV) is Portugal's primary organisation for recovering and recycling packaging. Founded in 1996 and based in Cruz Quebrada, Lisbon, it has kept more than 11 million tonnes of packaging out of landfill in nearly three decades of work. SPV describes itself as the backbone of Portugal's Integrated System for Packaging Waste Management. The work is split across several specialised divisions, set up to change how the system works as a whole. Ponto Verde Lab works on recycling innovation with universities and research institutions to develop better recycling practices, including under a formal Cooperation Protocol with Universidade NOVA de Lisboa. Academia promotes education and changes in behaviour. Resource encourages collaborative innovation across sectors: its fourth edition, run with the collaborative innovation consultancy Beta-i, brought together 148 startups from Portugal and abroad. Rede Recicla+, a flagship programme, provides targeted financing to speed up the recycling of glass packaging. SPV has committed significant financial resources to the sector, and its investment is projected to reach €237 million by 2026. Even so, the organisation openly says its first-quarter performance data shows results still falling short of the benchmarks needed, and that this makes faster collective action urgent. SPV's outreach to the public includes taking part in the Lisbon Book Fair every year and the Junta-te ao Gervásio prize, which recognises exemplary recycling behaviour. Its message, “Separamos juntos” (We separate together), reflects a core belief that recycling packaging is a civic responsibility everyone shares. The target is a 65% packaging recycling rate.