We’ve collectively recycled 1.6 billion bottles and cans via Deposit Return Scheme since last year

by TeoKajLibroj

33 comments
  1. Dammit, *warn* me when I’m going to need popcorn for a thread, man.

    Key figures :

    >Additionally, it says that recycling rates for beverage containers have risen from 49% to an estimated 91%, with 76% of containers recycled through the scheme and 15% collected via standard recycling bins.

    The EU 2029 recycling target is 90% for PET bottles – we were *way* below that figure and now we’re exceeding it.

  2. If it takes one second for every item inserted into the machine, that’s over 50 years of people’s time.

  3. It’s 320 containers per person, give or take (incl small kids etc). I’m doing it for the family so I’ve probably deposited a thousand cans/bottles.

    1000 seconds is 16.6 mins. With nuisance rejected cans and what have you, I’ve probably spent half an hour of my life on this over the last year… Honestly, it’s a good return for society and I’ve paid and gotten back like 150-200 quid…. Yeah, the system works. Damnit.

  4. Great, now can we get a better system in place that doesn’t make you feed it one can at a time and can add money to your bank directly instead of a stupid paper receipt?

  5. I like that we have but my kingdom for a machine I can just dump my bag into it and have it sort it and give me the receipt. By the time I have put them all in bottom first one. at. a. time. I’ll turn around the kids have half of Aldi on fire.

  6. Doing some back of the envelope maths.

    The estimate was the country used 1.9bn bottles and cans a year. (https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0201/1494143-deposit-return-scheme/)

    The scheme has been going for 18 months (Feb 2024) and the report is saying 1.6bn have been received in that time. I work that out as a recycling rate of **56%**.

    Edit: I see now that this is only their 2024 return, which for some reason hasn’t been published until July. There’s a good slide on page 7 showing the before and after return rates – 49% vs 81%. To be honest it’s a bit messy, I can’t figure out where the figure of 76% is coming from (their own report is 5% higher).

  7. Why does it not accept non Return bottles? Ok they won’t pay out, but it’s all going to recyling, no?

  8. wow. but how many had we done in the same period when there wasnt a scheme in place?

    how many glass bottles do we recycle every year without needing scheme?

  9. Still enjoying throwing plastic bottles off my balcony.

    Before I used to recycle as normal but now I can just throw them off the balcony. For some reason they’re always gone in the morning?

  10. So the loudmouth moaners adjusted just like they did when they had to adjust to smoking areas and paying 22c for a plastic bag.

  11. It’s a con. Recycling is not the answer, oil-based plastics are the problem

  12. Now for the moaners (lazy shits) who cant be arsed returning their bottles & cans to come out from under their rocks to say it’s a pointless idea.

    No amount of correct maths will change their conspiracy based opinions though.

  13. Have they ever released info on where exactly the profit goes? I can’t find it anywhere. It’s an awful lot of money I’d imagine.

  14. Absurd gesture politics. Replacing the non-existent problem of bottle litter with rummaged bins and ridiculous drives to energy inefficient bottle banks. One reason the greens got fired at the last election, dumb policies have consequences.

  15. Petition to have a bin also placed to the recycling machines. Sick of seeing random nin-recycling cans stacked on top and in little piles around it.

  16. Rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic. Recycling plastic is a scam.

  17. Now tell us how much diesel was pumped into the air from hundreds of cars driving these things to the shop.

  18. I think where the scheme gets its real success is not from at home but the big events such as GAA matches

    Young kids often collect 100 bottles after these games that would be left to waste otherwise

  19. I’ve recycled the same amount of bottle and cans in the last 18 months as I did in the previous 18 months. It was much easier just putting my plastics and aluminium into my blue bin.

  20. 1.59 billion of those had to be inserted twice because the damned machine didn’t accept them the first time or you had to find a different machine that did.

  21. It’s actually great to see that Re-Turn are planning to address the reality that the plastics are sent abroad by investing in a facility here in Ireland. Waste is actually quite a reliable resource!

  22. This thread has really brought our the miserable people of r/Ireland hasn’t it? Fucks sake people.

  23. Honestly this feels like they now have a way to measure and count the bottles and now it looks like great progress, but really it’s just better data accuracy and reporting. I don’t believe for a second that 50% of bottles were being thrown on the side of country roads or in black bins when the green one was beside it in the majority of homes. They also completely ignore all the infrastructure and waste that is now in the system to have these separate to all other waste.

  24. It’d be nice if the supermarkets had a little tap where you could rinse your hands after putting cans into the machine.

  25. We’ve got so many saved up we’re about to add another billion when we bring them in tomorrow

  26. My in laws ONLY recycle their cans and bottles now. Before that they were just throwing everything in the black bin. Even now plastic, cardboard, tins etc all go in their black bin. But they “wouldn’t give it to them” not getting their 15c back now.

    If it can make these ignoramuses change even a small part of their selfish ways then its a win.

  27. Have they published exact numbers anywhere? I’d like to know what the last three or four digits of that figure are, and how they’re collating this info.

    I think it’s interesting how, by necessity, they have an exact count of how many containers get into the waste stream this way.

  28. Not to be the conspiracy theorist but has that increase offset the emissions from the extra car journeys to bring the bottles back? Genuine question

  29. I do it out of spite, this one was a win for the Green party

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