Deposit return scheme (recycling)

Yes, separate bins and collections for general recyclables, paper & cardboard, glass (that couldn't be recycled via supermarkets, vegetable jars, etc.), general rubbish, and biological rubbish/compost. The only difference compared to Ireland is that there was one company for everything. The local municipality would contract bin collection out to a company which would then do it for every private & commercial premises in that particular area. That could be either a private company, such as in the place where I lived, or it could be a public utility company, such as in nearby Frankfurt.

EDIT: One thing that developed in Germany, partially because of this, was that larger supermarkets in particular started opening dedicated "Getränkemärkte", separate stores on the same premises as the main store that were entirely dedicated to selling and taking back drinks of all types. I'm not sure, when, or indeed if, this is going to happen here in Ireland, especially since the "Pfand" system in Germany is a lot more extensive, but over time, we might see that happen. All German supermarkets in my area still stocked drinks in their regular stores as well, the "Getränkemarkt" usually served those who were looking for large packs of drinks, like crates of beer bottles, lemonade, or the infamous 6 x 2l water bottle packs.

That's the way it was in Germany. The machine printed out a coupon that you could then either use on your next shop, or exchange for cash in-store. If you had enough of the stuff, you could get a nice little stack of money, I think my record stood at 35€, which was even more in the early 2010s than it is today. More typically, it was 5-10€ for me, although my parents regularly cracked the 40€ mark, thanks to my dad's penchant for beer and the relatively high deposit on glass beer bottles and crates.

Mind you, I had to drag all of my bottles back to the store on foot since I didn't have a car (still don't), though at least I had the luxury of having a REWE, Lidl & Aldi all within a kilometer of my place.

Damaged means distorted barcode,can or bottle crushed,flattened.Lidl have paying for recycling for over a year in certain branches-will miss it next Febuary.10c for 100ml,330ml,500ml cans or bottles(500ml cans get rejected),also,1 and 2 litre bottles.Most beer,cider,mixer,cans get rejected.A good training for the public.Lidl takes the lid.Local council recycling say remove the lid.

I can definitely understand your perspective on that, and I think it will have to come down to retailers offering to take back empty bottles when customers place an online order. Do you have any friends, family members or colleagues in the vicinity who might be willing to lend a hand in the meantime, to minimize the impact?

Use a refillable water bottle like everyone did in the past. That'll save a significant sum over time

Can't believe the amount rubbish problems people are coming with about this whilst it's been implemented and working in other countries in Europe for over 30 years without problems.

Why would it not work here?

Return the two bottles you used the previous week and it cancels out. It's not that confusing, is it?

Are these machines constructed outside supermarkets exempt from planning? I've noticed 2 near me and neither have any planning notice submitted for them.

If they are not permanent structures are you suggesting this won't be a permanent scheme?

Yes they are exempt from planning is the answer here

Nope, they are here to stay. Permanent in this context means a building, not a machine that is readily moved / replaced.

Personally I don't think it should be vouchers at all.

Cash in Cash out.

Maybe an app you can link with your account.

The reality is most people won't be bringing back one or 2 items, it will be buckets and bags.

The numbers can get quite high, quite fast far more incentive if it's money back.

I also think they should have thought of a financial reward, e.g. 15c deposit 20c back at least for the first couple of years, the way it is will not be cost neutral for the consumer.

The problem with that is the vouchers are locked into Tesco.

That's to benefit them, not me.

The "deposit" is paid in cash, it should be returned in cash.

Segment starts a about 6 minutes in.

By cash I mean your personal funds on deposit.

I have already stated it should be an app that can be linked bank to your account.

But if I do my shopping in X supermarket or shop that doesn't have one of these machines, the voucher is a major inconvenience.

If it is truly a deposit paid for in money, it shouldn't be transferred into vouchers when you want that deposit back. It's arbitrary and gives an another unfair advantage to the larger retailer.

As for people in a queue to get money back, that would be the thin end of the wedge, I'd be more concerned about a lad with 6 bags of cans having to manually hand back each one because that shop doesn't have a machine and that is the shop he actually shops in.

The reality is to make these things an actual success, they have to be simple, convenient and incentivised for everyone.

I guess we will.

I just got a notification of a 9.5% increase in my monthly bin collection charges from January 2024.

3 options are available

1 - CASH - but for security reasons its a voucher you then have to redeem at that store.

2 - Voucher for the store.

3 - Charity

Just to be clear, the Alupro figure is based on an approximation based on UK figures. It is almost certainly high. There is no data collection for can or bottle recycling in Ireland. EPA measure by material. Even taking that, of the figures in the survey you quote, firstly that survey relates to PET recycling which is lower than aluminium in virtually every country in the world. Industry estimates PET recycle rates in Ireland of 60-65. Secondly of the figures you show only the Netherlands has a significantly lower figure for a country with DRS. The DRS is Netherlands was strange, it started on a voluntary basis, then only moved to money with 2 litre bottles, then later in mid 2021 to small bottles, so the figures you source are for a scheme less than a year old. Netherlands only added cans this year. In short, the Dutch scheme was a lesson in how not to do things.

There is a reason every European country is implementing DRS, it is proven to work. It may be inconvenient, but it works at not only increasing recycling rates but also in creating a separate waste stream which improves the reuseability of the materials. This is not just about more recycling it is about more effective recycling.

I wonder which will be the first charity to jump on this - "donate your bottles to us so we can claim your deposits!"

Or an entreprenurial type. I'll collect your cans and bottles on Sunday morning and pay you back minus 5c/item

An easier solution again would be to allow you to tap or insert your credit/debit card and get the refund refunded to that card

It's almost like we had a whole network setup to do that which we paid for already.

Ireland started it!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container-deposit_legislation

As usual a noisy tiny minority looking for every conceivable angle to complain and moan. In reality it works exceptionally well, is of minor inconvenience and will rid the streets, parks, hills, and beaches of millions of empty bottles.

Yes it's another excuse to travel up north or even buy from amazon etc. The one upside to this for you is you no longer have to crush or clean the beer cans after use