Is the deposit return scheme being unfairly labelled? 

The containers are inserted into a machine when consumers are finished with them, now located at 2,200 retail outlets. The machine reads them, confirms they are part of the deposit return scheme, and issues a voucher which must then be redeemed at the same retail outlet where the deposit was made.

Re-turn, the operator of the scheme, accepts while there have been "teething" problems, it says by and large the scheme has been a success with a "solid start". It points to the fact two million drinks containers have been collected in the first month of operation, ahead of expectations.

Speaking on radio this week, Re-Turn chief executive Ciarán Foley admitted some customers were charged deposits they should not have been for some products He said there were "issues with multipacks and foreign importers' reregistering codes".

Mr Foley said this issue had been rectified, but said there would be examples of people coming back to them having paid the deposit but unable to get it back.

"In that instance, we've asked them to work with the retailer — we've asked the retailers to pay them the deposit and then claim it back from us," he told RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne.

If that doesn't work for them, then we were asking them to get on to us and we'll resolve it for them."

In response to questions about machines being out of order, Re-turn said it was aware some machines had experienced “temporary downtime” since their inception.

“Nationally, the RVM [reverse vending machine] system is currently operating at an 85% uptime across the network, with this number steadily increasing. If a consumer notices a temporarily out-of-order machine, they should alert the retailer and request the machine be returned to normal function.”

Cork customers

The Irish Examiner took to the streets of Cork to gauge shoppers' reaction to the scheme.

Sueann Brierley from Blackpool said the scheme was "just another tax when we were recycling at home anyway". 

"I don’t mind recycling glass bottles but with the deposit return scheme the Government are just asking us to throw money in the bin. It doesn’t add up. The timing of it all isn’t great."

Dean Murray, from Blackpool, branded the scheme "ridiculous". 

"People aren’t going to be collecting bottles just to get a few cents back from a machine," he said. 

"The only way you’re going to get the value from the scheme is if you store a large amount of bottles but most people would just leave a few cents go. 

"It’s also going to be a lot of hassle for people going out to a machine with just one bottle when the person in front of them has a lot more to return.

Claire Delaney from Farranree sees the scheme as a positive and is planning on using the machines. "It’s handy for people who might have nothing in their wallet because it offers an incentive for them to recycle that day. 

I do think it’s a bit of a Government money racket but at least it will encourage people to recycle. Hopefully, it’s something that people will get used to.

However, John Horgan from Fair Hill said: “If there was an easier way of getting the money back I would do it but this is just too much. There is no way I am going down to this machine for the sake of 25c a can."

Teresa Donovan from Farranree said: “I haven’t actually gone to return my bottles yet but my husband has them all lined up and ready to go. If it was me, it wouldn’t happen because I’d have all the bottles thrown in the bin. I do think it’s a good idea but it will just be a matter of getting used to.” 

Trina Murphy of Fair Hill said: “Other European countries have been doing this for a while so I don’t see what the huge issue is. I found it very easy. I really didn’t want to waste the money because my son does athletics and drinks a lot of Lucozade Sport. After a while, the price adds up.”

Finbarr Mitchell of Farranree: “The only reason this was brought it in was to keep the Greens happy. I call them the 'flower pot' party. 

This is supposed to save the environment but all it’s doing is forcing us to pay more for what we buy.

Henry Enos of Aghada said he was concerned as to how the scheme would work for the elderly, small shops and for disabled people. "I think it’s a great scheme under principle but how are shops going to cater for the recycling of the bottles? This is the equivalent of someone living in a tiny house being told they are going to have to find room for an American fridge. 

"When you think of the bigger shops, they have to have staff to unpack the machines so that they don’t jam. This is difficult for businesses with only a few staff members.”

Stephen Puddy said: “We used to collect our bottles and put them in the bin, but now we have to travel all the way to our local supermarket. It’s quite unfair for small businesses too. I know of a business owner who had no space in the shop to fit the machine so had to put it in a disabled bay outside.”

What do businesses say?

Cork councillor Noel McCarthy, who runs an off-licence in Fermoy, said since the scheme’s launch, there had been “nothing but problems".

“My staff are confused. Some of the products haven't got the barcodes on some of the cans and then some of them have,” Mr McCarthy told the Irish Examiner.

He said the software in his tills had to be changed and it cost nearly €7,000 to make those  adjustments. He said not all the information was available when they first introduced the deposit return scheme, and this caused confusion. 

He also said his customers were unhappy the scheme had seen the cost of cans and bottles rise. For example, under the deposit return scheme, six cans, which used to cost €16-€17, have gone up to €19.

“The first thing [a customer] says is how is that €19, and you say it's because of [the deposit] of 15c per can, and then they’ll give you the answer back that 'it's like another tax'.

“Which it is, and you have to agree with them."

However, when Mr McCarthy’s customers ask whether they can bring it back to his shop, he has to say no because he does not have a machine and has to refer them to other larger outlets.

You’re nearly hunting your customers down to the bigger establishments because they have room to take a machine where people like myself in similar businesses haven’t got that space or the finance to be able to get the machines.

He is not able to install an reverse vending machine as he has no room and he also cannot afford to install one due to its costs.

Mr McCarthy said it would cost between €12,000 to €14,000 for a large reverse vending machine, while that price halves for smaller ones.

“It is putting people in smaller businesses under extreme pressure," he said.

He also thinks there has been a rise in litter near the deposit machines due to rejected containers.

“This is no fault of the machines, but some people are going down to these machines and cans and bottles are being rejected and then in frustration they leave them there and it creates a rubbish and dumping ground,” he said.

"One man told me ‘Look, I’d put up with the 15c charge because I just couldn’t be bothered going through half the cans that were thrown out to me, I just threw them into the bin after, I was fed up'.” 

At lunch hour at a busy Cork City supermarket, the Irish Examiner counted only a handful of customers using the machines.

Some of the containers that were put in were rejected by the machine as they were not part of the deposit return scheme or were damaged. These containers were then thrown into the nearby recycling bin.

“The machines will only accept the items that have the new barcodes or the Re-turn logo,” Tesco manager Monika Renka said.

“No deposit is charged for items from the old stock, so therefore they cannot claim their money back through the machines,” she added.

Re-turn’s website states retailers have a four-month transition period where they can continue to sell old stock which does not have the Re-turn logo. Older containers without the logo or barcode will not incur a deposit charge.

However, Mr McCarthy said the scheme should have done its homework and everything “should have been in place before they implemented it”. 

Liam Ryan, who owns Ryan’s SuperValu in Togher and Glanmire, said it was too early to say if concerns with the deposit return scheme would persist.

He acknowledged there was some initial confusion among customers during its first weeks of operating and there were a few teething issues. However, he said any long-term problems with the scheme would only become apparent in four to six weeks.

This is echoed by Re-turn chief executive Ciarán Foley: “We understand that this is a huge behavioural change for all Irish consumers, and we appreciate everyone's patience during the four-month transition period as retailers sell through non-deposit products, together with Re-turn logo stock and some stock that may incur a deposit but does not feature the Re-turn logo.

However, co-founder of Eight Degrees Brewing in Mitchelstown, Scott Baigent believes the Re-turn logo requirement on cans and bottles is a "rule for no purpose".

“All of our barcodes are already registered with the deposit return scheme and the machines only read the barcodes.

“They [the machines] can’t see if there’s a [Re-turn] label on the can or not.

“I really can’t see the purpose for the logo because the machines in the supermarket do not care if the can has a logo on it, they only look at the barcodes and all of our barcodes are registered,” Mr Baigent said.

While supermarkets have a transition period that allows them to sell products without the Re-turn logo until June 1, suppliers are not allowed to sell products without the logo from March 15.

Mr Baigent this was causing them headaches. His brewery has more than 460,000 cans without the logo that were ordered before the six-week transition period issued to producers.

“We don’t have enough time in the next two weeks to shift those cans out, so to be compliant with the rules is to manually apply a plastic sticker that they supply to us and we buy off them and stick them onto each and every can.

“It’s taking two guys working full time to finish 2,000 cans a day. We have 200 days of work ahead of us,” Mr Baigent said.

He believes the Re-turn sticker requirement creates “massive” problems for smaller businesses.

It creates massive problems for small businesses because big businesses will go through their stock at such a rate that all their stock would have the Re-turn logo on their cans by now.

Mr Baigent said it would be cheaper for his business to crush and recycle all of the 460,000 cans and order new ones with the Re-turn logo.

“They are perfectly good cans, and buying new stock with a logo on it doesn’t make sense for a recycling scheme.

“My argument is why is that logo necessary,” Mr Baigent said.

In response, Mr Foley told the Irish Examiner the logo was necessary as a means of identification for consumers and retailers offering manual deposit returns.

“This is best practice internationally across 15 EU deposit return schemes, with many drinks containers featuring multiple deposit return logos.”