The new recycling system

They seem to have implemented their own barcode checker on the website...

https://re-turn.ie/consumer/#barcodechecker

Some of those packages of smaller water may end up being delisted from stores. For some people, these were carry and bin when empty.

Will people keep them rather than bin. If they do, it's also going to be a task to keep some of the softer ones from getting crushed on the way home.

We're going off topic, but Aldi have an ongoing offer of 3x5 litre bottles for around €3.89. It's usually at the bottom of the SEL but not easily spotted.

It always pisses me off because I don't drive so have to buy them singly.

Why are we being told we are so very poor at recycling and need this new scheme?

https://repak.ie/driving-change/recycling-targets/

Recycling and Recovery Statistics 2022

As of July 2023, we announced that Ireland surpassed every recycling and recovery target set for it by the European Union for the twenty fifth year in a row* with recycling rates as follows:

• Plastic at 32.7% (EU target 22.5%)
• Paper at 75% (EU target 60%)
• Metals at 69% (EU target 50%)
• Glass at 85% (EU target: 60%)
• Wood at 66% (EU target 15%)

In total in 2022*, Repak funded the recovery and recycling of over 1.1 million tonnes of packaging waste, an increase of 95,000 tonnes on 2020 (9% increase) and the highest volume recorded ever in Ireland (*subject to verifcation by the EPA).

Apples and oranges.

That made a lot of sense, was fairly straightforward to implement and didn't involve mass jumping through hoops.

It also didnt punish those who were doing the right thing prior to the scheme coming in or indeed have so many variables at play. Unlike this scheme there weren't any alternative options to try either to get the desired outcome.

There's a shed tonne of people who somehow think this scheme was well thought out and planned, with all eventualities taken into account, which is plainly untrue.

It wasn't bad pr, it was barely mentioned except by a few people who searched out for a minor issue.

I remember when Tesco introduced the coin slots for trolleys and you had the same type of person claiming they would shop elsewhere.

There's a mouthy few out there that get elevated attention because they have phenomenal time on their hands and use forums and social media all day long.

Couple of classic examples on this thread

Apple and oranges alright .. but the reaction from some quarters is exactly the same .... just stop buying as much stuff that comes in plastic and cans ... I would probably buy a plastic drinks bottle once or twice a month at the most.

More comparable would be if the vast majority of people were using reusable bags already, but an expensive quango was created that told us we were using the wrong sort of reusable bag and now we have to use a far more expensive infinitely less convenient bag.

Also plastic bags still exist in abundance, their public demise also coincided with the vast majority of households getting a recycle bin.

Could the 2 be linked? Mind blown!

They've blasted one message on in the media over the past few weeks, every container with the ReTurn logo on it, goes in the RVM. Everything else, goes in your recycling bin.

There is literally loads of containers that do not have the logo yet that a deposit is being paid on. Thats ridiculous. That's bad PR.

Ultimately, it all washes away in 2-3 weeks when they filter out of the system and in 6 months this will all be forgotten about. It hasn't started on the right foot imo.

So 365 million a year. An eye watering amount of money.

The collection rate target for year 1 is 70%.

30% of €365m in unredeemed deposits.

So that is €109.5 million plus materials income plus producer fee income.

The best robberies are always conducted in plain site.

From looking at the missing info on the map and other general issues with the launch yesterday I doubt the people behind re-turn are smart enough to implement such a thing on the barcode checker. I found 5 containers at home that were eligible for a deposit return 75c coming my way after the weekend

I know its probably trickier to do but I think the refund should be able to be paid through into your bank account.

or at least it should be in the roadmap to make refunds retailer independent.

It's not tricky at all. It's 2024, getting an APP to one way interface with a bank account is not hard. Also I imagine it is far cheaper in the long run then to have to use a printer and literal paper.

The cumbersome and polluting paper voucher system is by design, Tesco haven't spent 15 million installing these machines because they just love the environment, ditto the other big chains.

The scheme is designed to drive footfall and therefore increase market share for the bigger players.

It's no secret or conspiracy as the cheer leaders on here would have you believe.

It's on their website.

Benefits of Deposit Return

Increased customer loyalty by offering consumers a positive and convenient Deposit Return experience.

Potential to increase consumer footfall as consumers return their empty beverage containers to get their deposit fee refund.

Opportunity to encourage consumers to use Deposit Return as a method to gain store loyalty points or to donate to charity.

They were never 5c under the levy (although some individual shops may have charged for plastic bags pre-levy).

When the levy was first introduced they were 15c, currently 22c.

I haven’t seen a 22c bag in over a decade. Zero free brown papers bags either.