Father-of-three John Crossan began by recycling 250,000 cans and buying 5,000 native trees in the 1990s, while also travelling hundreds of miles on Tree Walks that brought environmental education to hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren
11:43, 13 Aug 2026Updated 11:52, 13 Aug 2026
John Crossan with bales of aluminium cans at his premises in Longford(Image: John Crossan)
A Longford man who spent nearly three decades funding tree-planting initiatives and environmental education campaigns by recycling aluminium cans has revealed how the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) has “obliterated” his green business.
Father-of-three John Crossan began by recycling 250,000 cans and buying 5,000 native trees in the 1990s, while also travelling hundreds of miles on Tree Walks that brought environmental education to hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren.
He continued to build a thriving business out of collecting aluminium cans and exporting them to the United Kingdom for recycling, while using proceeds to support tree-planting and other environmental initiatives.
However, he said the business has been obliterated since the introduction of the DRS in February 2024.
“Before the scheme, I would have been bringing five or six vanloads of cans stuffed to the gills in a week, especially at this time of year when there are festivals everywhere,” recalled John.
“Now, I wouldn’t have half a vanload in a week. It’s been obliterated,” he added. “I knew it was going to wipe me out. It was a gradual decline after the scheme went live.”
John’s environmental journey began in Galway in the mid-1990s, when he used to conduct beach and street cleanups before handing the cans over to a salvage operator called Fergal McCann – a fine example of nominative determinism.
By 1997, John had secured a commercial buyer for the aluminium cans, and planned to use the revenue to purchase an acre of land for native woodland.
To promote the initiative, he launched the Tree Walk around 1996, travelling in horse-drawn carts for three months at a time, covering 700 miles around Ireland, visiting schools to teach children about woodland folklore, native trees, and conservation.
Such was its success, the initiative was expanded to the United States, and singer-songwriter Susan O’Neill has spoken on stage about how attending a Tree Walk as a child had ignited her commitment to environmentalism.
“Hundreds of thousands of kids would have listened to us,” John said. “The kids are totally locked on, totally invested in it,” adding that many still stop him in the street to tell him how the acorns they planted are growing.
“The impact of these environmental initiatives is difficult to quantify but it’s like throwing a stone in the water – the effects ripple out,” he explained.
John Crossan
To handle increasing volumes of cans over the years, John upgraded his operation from using hand squashers to a tarmac roller, before eventually investing in an industrial compactor to bale the cans.
At its peak, a tonne of compressed cans containing approximately 60,000 units fetched around £600 sterling. Shipments were initially transported to Northern Ireland every five months before being exported directly to plants in England.
“Locals would say, ‘Fair play, you’re creating a job, saving stuff from the dump, you’re recycling and you’re buying trees. You’re doing three or four things with the one thing,'” John recalled.
The business was also a family affair, and John remembers fondly his late father helping to bale the cans following his retirement.
“My father would come out and help me out. We’d have the craic and read the paper and talk about what was going on in the world, and have a cup of tea and he’d bale five bales,” he said.
“That was his thing. It was keeping him fit and healthy and giving him something to do after he retired. It was lovely.”
However, the launch of the DRS drastically altered the economics of independent scrap collection. Consumers paying a 15 cent or 25 cent deposit on containers now have a financial incentive to return intact cans to Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) rather than handing them over to private recyclers.
“It doesn’t make sense to bale them and recycle them now, because the scrap value of a can can be one or two cent, and you get 15 or 25 cent at an RVM,” John explained.
Prior to the rollout, John said he contacted Green Party representatives regarding the impact on independent operators. He was told by then-minister Ossian Smyth that Re-turn would be asked to liaise with him to explore potential collaboration.
Subsequent suggestions from Green Party staff, however, proved unworkable.
“Green staff suggested that I get an RVM,” John said. “And I thought, these lads haven’t a clue. I’m out in the bog. People aren’t going to bring their cans here. It wasn’t practical and they were just trying to fob me off.”
When Re-turn subsequently contacted him, representatives asked if he could handle collections on a nationwide scale.
“I’m not set up for that,” he said. “They’re going around with the flashy logo and brand new vans. The reality of recycling isn’t always like that, you know. It was very hard to deal with them.”
While acknowledging the need for environmental progress, John expressed skepticism over whether the multi million-euro deposit scheme had delivered major gains in overall recycling rates.
“Everything changes and I understand that, and I’m happy to see things get better, you know, that there’s higher recycling rates. But I would question the scheme in ways that it’s so much energy put in to increase rates by how much?
“It’s encouraging people, but it is a bit of a nuisance for people too. I’d say rates have increased a very small amount,” he said.
Despite the drop in volume, John continues to collect from a small network of long-time supporters.
“I still have a few places, but less and less because people opt to give them to charity or community collections. There’s a handful still keeping them who would be loyal and it’s enough to keep me going. I don’t want to sign on and I don’t have to sign on.”
The Tree Walk project also remains active, though its focus has evolved toward school-based acorn planting rather than land purchases.
“Now it’s more about planting an acorn with every single child in school, so we don’t need to buy hundreds of trees like we were initially. We spent a lot on trees then. Now, not so much,” John said.
“I’ll just tip along. I don’t know how long I’ll do it. I’ll keep doing it for as long as I feel there’s a need to do it and it’s giving me enough to get by.”
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