The deposit return scheme recently introduced in Ireland has demonstrated remarkable success, with over 21 million bottles and cans collected from February 1st to March 29th, according to the scheme’s organisers. Under the scheme, shoppers receive a deposit refund when they take back empty and unscathed plastic bottles or aluminium cans to participating stores throughout the country.
An alternate way customers can return their containers is through the use of a “reverse vending machine”. These machines provide vouchers redeemable for cash or in-store purchases. With over 2,300 of these machines available across Ireland, the ease of returning containers has contributed to the high engagement in the scheme.
As disclosed by Re-turn, the amount of cans and bottles collected until March 29th numbered 21,018,360. The single day with the highest collection rate was March 29th, when more than 1.2 million items were returned. Additionally, the St Patrick’s weekend saw more than 2.2 million drink containers attained.
The success of Ireland’s scheme is competition for similar initiatives in the EU. Compared to Slovakia where a scheme gathered 264,000 containers in the first month since its inception in January 2022, Ireland’s scheme attained 2 million. By the second month, Slovakia had achieved 8 million containers, a number which Ireland exceeded by achieving over 10 million containers by March 18.
Re-turn’s CEO, Ciaran Foley, expressed enthusiasm at the public support for the scheme. He praised the increasing return rates seen as the Re-turn logo products become more prevalent. He is confident that these return numbers will persistently grow as the scheme gains familiarity.
The deposit return scheme is an important element of Ireland’s action to not only meet but surpass EU recycling goals. It signifies an improvement from the time prior to the scheme’s initiation when only 60% of plastic bottles and cans were being gathered for recycling.
By assigning a monetary worth to drink containers, Re-turn encourages customers to recycle their items and get their deposits returned. Furthermore, collecting drink containers separately eradicates cross contamination, ensuing a higher quality of reclaimed material, Re-turn explained.