Over 5 million drinks containers returned since launch of Deposit Return Scheme

James Cox

Re-turn, Ireland’s Deposit Return Scheme, has now collected over 5.6 million drinks containers since its launch on February 1st, with the first 10 days of March reporting returns of over 3.6 million drinks containers.

Ireland returned two million drinks containers in the entire month of February – it has already collected 3.6 million in the first 10 days of March, with nearly one million drinks containers returned over the weekend.

There are over 2,300 operational reverse vending machines now accessible across the country.

Re-turn chief executive Ciaran Foley said: “We are delighted with the number of plastic bottles and cans being returned by consumers nationwide and it really shows the support for this initiative. We’ve gone from collecting thousands of bottles a day to now bringing back hundreds of thousands. It’s a clear sign that our efforts to encourage recycling and support Ireland’s environmental goals are resonating.”

The positive figures come amid some criticism of the scheme, with some people arguing it will be ingored by people who do not save large amounts of bottles.