Ireland’s Deposit Return Scheme has seen rapid adoption in its first six months of operation. Re-turn, the operator of the Scheme, has revealed that Irish consumers have returned more than 347 million beverage containers since the launch of the Scheme on February 1.
Public support for the System has grown over the last six months, with a significant increase in the number of bottles and cans returned each month. In February, at the start of the System, 2 million containers were returned, a figure that has increased to an average of 3.2 million returns per day in July, totaling more than 102 million returns in the month.
In line with the growing adoption of the System, the network of Re-turn Deposit Return Points has grown by more than 870. There are now more than 2,500 reverse return machines and 323 manual return points across the country.
A key objective of the Deposit Return System is to educate consumers about the benefits of collecting and recycling PET and aluminum beverage containers separately, rather than disposing of them in household recycling garbage cans or public landfills.
By returning all beverage containers included in the system to a single location, consumers enable the collection of a higher quality recyclable material than dry mixed recycling. This separation allows for the continuous recycling of aluminum and enables plastic bottles to be recycled up to seven times.
According to a recent Re-turn survey, 84% of consumers have used a reverse vending machine since its launch, and support for the System currently stands at 74%.
More than half of consumers (59%) take their empty beverage containers back when their bag or box at home is full, while 36% return them when grocery shopping.
Once the voucher is issued, one in five (20%) opt to receive their cash back, while 62% redeem the voucher immediately for their grocery purchases.
Return for Children
In June, in collaboration with six of Ireland’s leading children’s charities – Barnardos Ireland, Barretstown, ISPCC’s Childline, Jack & Jill, LauraLynn Children’s Hospice and Make-A-Wish Ireland – the ‘Return for Children’ initiative was launched.
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