Deposit return scheme (recycling)

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828825#Comment_121828825

Hard to know with the beer.

The different supermarkets are raising and lowering prices all the time. Some brands go up others go down the same week.

You can expect them all to be offering "reduced" prices for Saint Patrick's holiday.

L1011

Hikes on beer now may be so they can claim the old price - a lot of big brand beer is sold at basically MUP - is a discount for Paddys and Easter.

Sarn

Or is it a case of producers upping their price, coupled with shrinkflation (18 can packs of coke now the same as 24 packs previously, in Tesco) to offset their increased costs?

BorneTobyWilde

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828846#Comment_121828846

It seems the bulk machine will throw out a few rejects, but one can put them in the single machine, and it should read it, still get paid, unless it's a reject because it's simply not a returnable, in which case you'd recycle it normally

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829677#Comment_121829677

There's a huge margin on mass producer beer - created by MUP near doubling the price - but it might be that for soft drinks.

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828232#Comment_121828232

And whoever paid the deposit has the right to reclaim it in the shop they return the cans to. Nothing changes from that point of view

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829066#Comment_121829066

Either they are going through their stock and have both deposit bottles and non-deposit ones or the bottle will give you a 15c return and he just didn't care about the deposit. My money is on the second one

Right, I’m going to sound very racist here, but this is how it is. I live in an apartment block, we have a general waste bin, a glass recycling bin, and a general “other”’ recycling bin. All big cardboard packaging is required to be flattened and placed by general recycling bin. Well, my experience is that certain people seem to consistently refuse to break down cardboard boxes and same people pile up high black plastic bags in general recycling. I have emailed property management, they put clearer info in several languages, still ignored. It’s a small block section, you meet these otherwise fine folk every day, you do not want to get into any unpleasant confrontations.

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830113#Comment_121830113

Why are you bringing race into it? Maybe you need to have a word with your neighbours.

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830113#Comment_121830113

What does that have to do with the DRS we have though?

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830113#Comment_121830113

How is that racist? You never singled out any race.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830054#Comment_121830054

i thought the bottle has to have the re-turn logo on it?

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830460#Comment_121830460

You'd think, because that's what we've been told all along, but no, there's plenty of bottles/cans out there without the logo that will give you a voucher at the RVM

howiya

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830460#Comment_121830460

You'd be right to think that given that's all the advertising has focused on but no.

Some stock without logos have the barcode registered with the scheme making them eligible for return.

Speaking of false advertising, there was a piece on drivetime the other night about complaints being upheld by ASAI. Surely the re-turn ads are worth a look

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830518#Comment_121830518

Fire in a complaint to ASAI, let us know how it goes

sligeach

I was in Lidl today. Did my shopping, then queued up, only till 1 was open and the que was quite long. So they opened till 2, the shop assistant didn't turn up, quite a bit of chatter from the assistant on till 1 and everyone looking around. The que kept getting longer. So they opened till 3 as well. Shop assistants turned up at pretty much the same time for both tills after a few minutes.

As I was leaving, I passed the RVM machines(2 of them), the manager and another assistant were dealing with some issue with the machine and had it open. This $h1++¥ scheme is adversely affecting customers and staff.

Atlantic Dawn

So is SuperValu the only supermarket that will not accept the return vouchers at the checkout for part payment of your groceries?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830659#Comment_121830659

Some Supervalus. My local one will, its also a function on the self checkout.

Supervalu is a franchise and a number of them are run really badly

jos22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830659#Comment_121830659

all supervalu's that have the machines installed are required to offer you the option of refund cash or to be used as a money off voucher, if the voucher was printed in that store. the only exception is when it comes to self service checkouts, but all manned check outs should be taken them.

best option if you want something done about it is to complain to Supervalu and they will contact the store you having the issue with.

jos22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830460#Comment_121830460

they were forced to change that. they have what they are calling Hardcoded and Soft coded barcodes

the hard coded one have the logo. soft coded ones do not have the logo, this was a temp solution due to some lines being used internationally and would not be using new barcodes for the Irish. market I think Tropicana was one of them. majority of them in stores from now on will have the new logo, but since the machine was going to accept them they started charging the deposit on existing stock.

majority of lines have increased their prices with the change over , like the lucozade range has gone from 2 euro to 2.20

Energise sport  range is going from 1.20 to 1.50, last year it used to 1 Euro a bottle. the Energise sport  1.75 bottles are going 2 Euro.

Rubberchikken

Have only seen one person use the one at our local Tesco. Otherwise it seems to be causing problems judging by the number of times the manager has been fiddling with it and phoning someone.

They've put large bin beside it presumably for bottles that don't work. Can't see how the shop is going to be happy with the increase in their recycling. And it's going to happen.

Not counting the nitwits who'll use the bin for their rubbish/recycling.🙄

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121816686#Comment_121816686

Jaysus the calamities some people come up with...

Been keeping empty beer bottles in the kitchen for years, not washed out. Usually for a week before going to the bottle bank, but sometimes two or three.

Guess what - never a problem.

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830657#Comment_121830657

I've had that checkout experience in Lidl many times in the past and long before DRS was even a thought

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121830659#Comment_121830659

It's the only supermarket I've heard of with that issue and any of the ones that I've been to haven't had that issue so it's not every store

Interesting that nobody has mentioned which supervalu store didn't allow the voucher at the till, you'd think that would be good information to share here

Genghis

At the end of the first month my gut feeling is that this scheme as it stands will not get us to the 90% target by 2029. There is a widespread opinion that this is simply another micro-tax, an apathetic suck it up and move on (not "yay! With a little effort I can get money back!!"). I guess this is similar to the vast majority of PAYE workers who never ever file tax returns or ever claim back medical / other expenses: much of our population seem to view tax as inevitable. Or similar to people who never bother to switch electricity provider, even when prices were extortionately high.

So, given that the government is legally signed up to, and bound by a target they may not meet, what mechanisms would be available to them to force the ratios up to 90%?

• Raise the deposit (i.e. double it). Easy implemented: I am not 100% sure, may only require a ministerial order. 
• Raise the producer deposit on in scope items e.g. multiply the producer levy and use these funds / and more grants, etc to incentive alternative packaging (there is not always available or viable for every product, so this is not really viable as an idea until we have a better alternative to plastic).
• Solve complex problems (like make online shopping, and/or green bins at home compatible with DRS). Not easily implemented at low volume / high scale.
• Renegotiate with the EU. Unlikely to succeed, and even if it did it would be 'delay, not reduce' and only if tied to a plan per one of the items above

Unless I am missing something, if it looks like we won't get to 90%, then it looks like the only step will be to raise the deposit to force consumer compliance. to my mind its only a question of when that happens, not if. I am thinking 2026. We should know the trajectory by then, it will be early in to a new government term, and enough time to maybe move the dial before 2029, or if not come up with a more difficult to implement solution / negotiate more time.

BoardsBottler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121832040#Comment_121832040

this has happened to me 3 times in centra (2 times in the same centra and once in another). one would assume it's as easy as scanning a "money off total order" voucher, but sadly these deposit return vouchers don't seem to be as simple, and require pressing buttons or something. it's do-able, just really slow and burdensome. i've found it much easier to get the cash for the voucher in a separate transaction which kind of defeats the whole purpose and makes it more hassle than its worth.

But if one does not have enough money to make their purchase without the voucher being included, it can be problematic. However then it may be better to cash the voucher before purchasing the shopping in that case. still feels like a nuisense though. Too inconvenient

ixoy

Is there any possibility of the machines giving an option to display a scannable QR code that you can use to load onto your phone? You could then scan the same codes at a checkout. It would be more convenient than keeping around lots of pieces of paper and not to mention more environmentally friendly too (which is what the scheme is meant to be about).

MOH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829066#Comment_121829066

Absolutely.

Bought 2x2L of Coke in Dunnes last week.

Marked on the shelf as 2 for €5 - no mention of the deposit tax, so deliberate mispricing there.

Got charged 5.50.

Discovered today the bottles aren't returnable..

Ezeoul

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121832239#Comment_121832239

Apparently "too complicated for the elderly or those who don't have smart phones" 🙄

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121832301#Comment_121832301

Might be worth your while checking the barcode on the checker section of Re-turn website.

Ezeoul

Passed by the Dunnes Stores Citywest RVM the other day, which is located in the basement area of the shopping centre. (Notably, down a level and well away from the shop itself.)

Noticed there were no bins for rejected items. So I guess they're meant to be dragged back home with you, after you've gone to the effort of bringing them in the first place?

The RVM looked small too - given the population of the area now, I'd imagine they'd fill up very quickly.