Lisbon system of reusable cup is operating. Lisbon was the first European city to establish a comprehensive deposit-return scheme of all drink containers within the entire city. City of Lisbon, TOMRA and AHRESP, the hospitality association in Portugal have come together to start this project.
Officially the system began on 26 June 2025 with two TOMRA drop off stations at kiosks in Pra180 Consumers receive their beverage in a reusable cup after they pay a deposit of 60 cent, which they receive back after they give the cup back at a TOMRA collection machine by simply tapping card or phone.
The entire nightlife sector in Lisbon is also scheduled to open its doors to the system by October, and it will have at least 17 points of returning.
The digital tracking, collection, cleaning and redistribution of the cups are done through TOMRA system named as Rotake. Every night the average number of used cups at the bars and cafes in Lisbon is approximately 25,000.
The old system was ineffective and has been revised with the new one that also aids in tracking the latest action in the city, which is the ban on single-use plastic cups.
To present the new system the city held the summit of Lisboa a Reutilizar in the MUDE (Design Museum) on 25 June.
Lisbon, inspired by the success of TOMRA in Aarhus, Denmark where over one million cups have already been returned, aims at paving a new way to sustainable urban life in Europe.
