Veolia Portugal and Centro Colombo – managed by Sonae Sierra – partnered with Smartbin.io to tackle a major challenge in food court waste management: the lack of visibility over the quality of waste separation at source and the difficulty of identifying contamination patterns across dozens of restaurants.

The pilot “Reciclar o Food Court” combines technology and behavioural change to improve selective collection in one of Portugal’s largest shopping centres. It operates on two complementary fronts:

• A dedicated awareness programme was developed for restaurants, including door-to-door visits introducing the new digital waste system, visual communication materials (posters, videos, artistic installations) and practical guidelines for improving separation practices. This continuous engagement supports establishments in adopting better waste-sorting behaviours.
• And a technological component integrates door-to-door collection with QR-coded bags linked to each restaurant. At the sorting area, AI-enabled cameras analyse the contents of every mixed-waste bag, detecting misplaced packaging and identifying opportunities for recovery.

All data is processed in real time, generating restaurant-specific reports that highlight performance, contamination sources, and personalised recommendations for improvement. This pilot aims to empower teams to make informed decisions, improve waste quality at origin, and strengthen recycling rates across the food court. It´s the beginning of a scalable and replicable model for other commercial spaces committed to circularity and efficient waste systems.