The UA has launched a recycling system that allows students and employees of the University to deposit aluminum and PET containers and receive a refund for it. This is done in dedicated equipment and, in total, there are six machines available to recycle the packaging. The equipment is located in various points of the UA campuses, namely in the pedagogical complex building, in the central technical area, in the student house, in the Higher Institute of Accounting and Administration (ISCA), in the Águeda School of Technology and Management (ESTGA) and in the Aveiro-Norte Higher School (ESAN).
The value of the deposit is credited to the UA's Unique Card, which is already associated with the institution's access and payment systems, and differs depending on the size of the package, and can vary between two and five cents. It is expected that, with a dedicated separation, with a lower degree of contamination, the product resulting from the collection will have a higher quality and there will be an increase in the selective collection of PET and aluminum.
This is the Recycling and Refunding of Aluminum and PET Packaging (REAP) project, presented by the UA and was a project approved for funding by the Environment Program, of the Multiannual Financial Mechanism (EEA Grants), established in the European Economic Area Agreement. For the implementation of this project, the UA had as partner the Norwegian company Infinitum, with extensive experience in implementing the collection system with reimbursement in Norway.