Over 200 million containers returned by Irish consumers under new scheme
'underscores Public’s Turn, The Number Of Scheme, Ofreturned Containers re Recycling' The Dedication Said Operator To The The
Over 200 million containers have been returned by Irish consumers since the country's deposit return scheme was launched on February 1.
So far this month, an average of 2.9 million containers are being returned daily as the adoption of the scheme "continues to grow."
According to Re-turn, the operator of the scheme, this upward trend "underscores the public’s dedication to recycling" and highlights the "continued growth and success of the scheme."
The scheme was initially plagued by complaints from consumers who were charged deposits when they should not have been or had issues with the machines recognising returns or being 'out of order'.
However, total returns have been growing each month since the scheme's launch.
More containers are being returned each day in June than were returned during the whole month of February — the first month the scheme was in place.
In February, just 2 million containers were returned, in March, this grew to over 20 million.
April saw over 50 million, while in May, over 78 million were returned.
This trend is expected to continue as more drinks are generally sold during the summer months.
Respectively, the daily average of drinks containers is also growing monthly.
On average, 69,000 containers were returned every day in February.
This stretched to 670,000 a day in March, 1.7 million in April, 2.5 million in May, and now, 2.9 million a day so far in June.
Non-logo and non-deposit drink containers had to be phased out by retailers by May 31 when the transition period for the scheme ended.
So from June 1, all drink containers included in the scheme now feature the Re-turn logo and barcode.
"Since the launch of the deposit return scheme, Irish consumers have shown great support and engagement, and the past few weeks are a testament as we have achieved yet another milestone," said Re-turn ceo Ciaran Foley.
"With over 200 million drinks containers returned, we are positive about the future and believe that our network across Ireland is ready to meet new levels of demand.
"By working together, we are contributing to a green future for generations to come, and we at Re-turn are excited for the busy summer months ahead."
Earlier this month, Re-turn teamed up with six of Ireland's national children's charities to launch a new fundraising initiative, called Return for Children.
The initiative will provide attendees at participating events with the option to donate their bottle and can deposits at designated Re-turn bins to the six charities — Barnardos Ireland, Barretstown, Childline by ISPCC, Jack & Jill, LauraLynn Children’s Hospice, and Make-A-Wish Ireland.
The main purpose of the deposit return scheme is to help Ireland reach the EU's recycling targets.
Ireland needs to achieve the EU recycling target of 90% by 2029 (an interim target of 77% by 2025).