Recycling and rubbish in Porto

Porto separates household waste. The colours on the street bins match a simple rule once you see them every day. Building rooms often have the same colours in miniature.

The usual colours

• Yellow, plastic packaging and metal cans.
• Blue, paper and clean cardboard.
• Green, glass bottles and jars without lids when the label asks for that.
• Grey or black, residual waste that cannot go in the others.

Food scraps and garden waste follow the scheme your building or parish publishes. Some blocks have a brown bin; others do not. Ask the condomínio on day one.

Ecopontos and bulky items

Glass banks and larger recycling points sit on many corners. Bulky furniture and appliances need a booked pickup or a trip to a municipal drop-off. Porto Ambiente publishes the contacts and maps on its site; search for the current page rather than an old PDF in a Facebook comment.

Good neighbour rules

Leave bags out only on the evening before collection if that is what your street does. Do not block the pavement with a sofa and hope. Oil, batteries and paint belong in the special streams, not in the grey bin.

Checked 27 October 2026. This is not legal, tax, medical or immigration advice. If an official page disagrees, follow that page.