Plastic bottles deposit return scheme to launch in October

A scheme where customers pay a refundable “deposit” on plastic bottles and aluminium cans is to be launched in October, after Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan approved an application for a new not-for-profit company to operate the project.

Last November, Mr Ryan signed the legislative regulations for the scheme, under which customers pay an extra deposit on aluminium cans and plastic bottles, which is then refunded if the can or bottle is returned, to be reused or recycled.

The scheme seeks to reduce the number of plastic bottles and cans thrown out as litter, and increase recycling rates.

On Tuesday, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment said Deposit Return Scheme Ireland (DRSI) is a new not-for-profit company set up by producers affiliated to Ibec’s Beverage Council, which will operate the scheme. Mr Ryan approved DRSI’s application on July 1st.

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“DRSI’s approval provides a vital foundational element of the DRS project. This gives DRSI the legal standing to establish and develop a DRS in co-operation with producers and retailers,” a spokesman for the department said.

“The DRS project will be launched in October of this year when it will open for registrations from producers and retailers. DRSI will progress the development and roll-out of bespoke IT, financial and reverse vending machine infrastructure over the course of 2023.”

Colin O’Byrne, a project manager at environmental organisation Voice Ireland, said the EU single-use plastic directive requires Ireland to have a 90 per cent collection rate of plastic bottles by the end of 2029.

“At the moment, the most generous assessment you’re going to get is that we collect about 60 per cent of PET plastic bottles. It’s probably much lower than that, at about 30 per cent. This deposit return scheme is the best mechanism around to get us to that 90 per cent collection,” he said.

“It’s not going to solve our problems. It’s much better than landfill and incineration, so it is the first step in the ladder.”

Some retailers have already introduced schemes such as this in recent months.

Lidl has a deposit return scheme in its Glenageary store in Dublin and Claremorris, Co Mayo. A spokeswoman for the supermarket said customer uptake has “surpassed expectations”, with more than 385,000 containers returned to the Glenageary store and more than 28,000 containers returned to the Claremorris store.

The reverse vending machine in Aldi’s Mitchelstown store, meanwhile, has collected almost 12,500 PET plastic bottles and aluminium cans since the trial began in February.

In April, Mexican food chain Boojum announced it had placed Dublin tech start-up Sensi’s AI reverse vending machine in its South Great George’s Street restaurant to increase levels of recycling of plastic bottles and aluminium cans.

Public reaction the scheme was generally positive on Tuesday, at least according to a straw poll at one north Dublin bottle bank. “I’m coming down to recycle whether or not I’m getting paid,” said Joe Reid from East Wall, who was recycling clothes and bottles in Fairview. He recycles once a month and supports the planned introduction of the bottle deposit.

“I think it’s a good incentive to have people recycle.” Currently, he says, “there’s no incentive except for people’s own conscience.”

Eoin Leech from Killester says: “I think it’s a good idea, but I don’t think it would be enough money to make a difference. You would need to be conscious about of the environment, otherwise you wouldn’t bother. If the bottle deposit is 10c, you would need 50 cans to make a fiver.”

Artane resident Geraldine Cosgrove cycles to the Fairview bottle bank regularly. Although she doesn’t have objections to the tax, she doesn’t want to pay more because she already recycles. “I don’t have objections but I don’t think it would make a difference. People who recycle are going to do it anyways,” she says. “If you want people to recycle, you should have more recycling places. Convenience is more important than a couple of cents.”