Aldi stores in Ballyphehane, Midleton, and Carrigaline see most bottles and cans returned

Cork shoppers returned 2.4m items to Aldi stores in June, as part of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

The figures have brought the total number of items returned to Aldi stores in the Rebel County to almost six million since the launch of the scheme.

This equates to a total of €1m in vouchers being issued in Cork to date.

The top three Aldi stores in Cork, in terms of returns, are Ballyphehane, Midleton, and Carrigaline.

The average Aldi store in Cork has processed more than 220,000 items since February, worth more than €37,000 in returned deposits.

This is slightly below the national average across all of Aldi’s 161 stores in Ireland, which have handled an average of 264,000 items each since the launch of the scheme, worth almost €45,000 in returned deposits.

June was the most successful month for the DRS at Aldi, as shoppers across Ireland collectively returned 16.7m items.

The store’s customers are adding the value of their DRS vouchers to their Aldi Christmas Savings Card when doing their weekly shop, allowing them to start saving in advance of the festive season.

Jason Carolan, plastics and packaging manager at Aldi Ireland, said: “As we can see from the figures today, the DRS scheme has been very popular with Aldi shoppers, and since going live in February of this year, the number of items being returned on a monthly basis has steadily increased.

Prior to the introduction of the DRS, Ireland had one of the lowest rates of recycling of PET and aluminium drinks bottles and cans, with only 60% of all drinks containers being recycled.

“Customers have redeemed more than €7m in cash and vouchers at Aldi’s 161 stores, ensuring that more than 42m items have been returned for recycling through the scheme.

“We’re proud to play our part in supporting and operating this scheme, which is a key part of helping to ensure more sustainable and circular economic activity,” Mr Carolan said.