Ricardo Neto, chairman of the board of ERP Portugal, said on Tuesday, 20 October, in Portel (Évora district) that Portugal collected “about 70,000 tonnes” of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in 2025, when the target was “almost double”. His figure and his wording, after a local protocol, not an APA balance published today and not a new law.

“We still have a long way to go,” Neto told the Lusa agency after signing the agreement with the Association of Municipalities of Central Alentejo (AMCAL). ERP Portugal is one of the two system operators for this waste. An operator’s assessment, not a European penalty notice.

Neto attributes the missed European targets, in part, to “diversions made outside the law” and to “very, very strong parallel markets”. His example: people who cut the circuits and take the compressor out of a fridge, take the metal value, release gases that affect the ozone layer and leave the country below target. His explanation, not a police statistic.

On volumes, Neto welcomed the government measure that, from 1 December, provides financial compensation for anyone who hands in old appliances when buying new ones. An announced start date, not a law voted on Tuesday and not a scheme already running on 20 October.

The Portel protocol provides a free door-to-door collection of large equipment — fridges, washing machines — in Alvito, Cuba and Vidigueira (Beja district) and in Portel and Viana do Alentejo (Évora). ERP supplies a vehicle; a request is booked and collection follows in 48–72 hours, Neto said. Nelson Brito, AMCAL secretary-general, spoke of proximity and of help with the targets. A five-municipality protocol, not a national law.

Until an official balance or a new rule, the closed fact is the ERP/Lusa statement of about 70,000 tonnes in 2025 and the protocol signed in Portel. The “almost double” target remains Neto’s wording. This is not a law.

Image: Vitor Oliveira, Portel, 26 March 2023, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons; the town in 2023, not a photograph of the 20 October 2026 protocol.

Sources consulted: Portugal missed electrical and electronic waste collection targets in 2025 - Publico / Lusa; Portugal did not meet electronic waste collection targets in 2025 - Noticias ao Minuto / Lusa.