Bank of Ireland backs national recycling scheme with €27.5m in financing

Bank of Ireland has announced it is backing the roll-out of the national deposit return scheme for drinks bottles and cans, by providing €27.5 million in financing for the project.

The bank will be the sole finance partner for the scheme, which aims to boost recycling rates for drinks containers by charging a small refundable deposit of between 15 cent and 25 cent for plastic bottles and cans.

Customers can get this money back when they return containers to retailers or other collection points to be recycled.

The scheme was established to help Ireland achieve European Union recycling targets for the estimated 2 billion drinks bottles and cans that are consumed here each year, more than 30 per cent of which are not collected for recycling.

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Under the EU’s directive on single-use plastics, Ireland must ensure separate collection of 77 per cent of plastic beverage bottles placed on the market by 2025, rising to 90 per cent in 2029.

As the scheme is set to go live for consumers in February 2024, preparations for launch are already under way, with over 90 per cent of producers and 2,500 stores already registered.

Nikki Canavan, head of origination and sustainability at Bank of Ireland Corporate and Markets, said the bank is “thrilled” to play a role in delivering the scheme.

“This transaction highlights Bank of Ireland’s commitment to providing meaningful debt financing in support of important sustainability-focused initiatives like Re-turn,” she said.

“We are also engaging with leading retail brands to support the roll-out of reverse vending machines across their extensive store networks nationwide. We will continue to work proactively with the retail sector to promote the successful implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme,” she added.

[ Ireland to miss EU plastic recycling targets, says recycling body Repak ]

The scheme is being operated by Deposit Return Scheme Ireland CLG (trading as Re-turn), appointed as the approved body to run the scheme by Minister of State with responsibility for Communications and Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth.

Minister Smyth said the introduction of a national Deposit Return Scheme has been a “big undertaking for the beverage industry in Ireland”.

“Re-turn, its members and its partners have shown great commitment and leadership in coming together to develop this exciting new circular initiative and have made significant progress in preparing for the launch of this Scheme in February next year,” he said.