Deposit return scheme (recycling)

I bought a Coke Zero today with same barcode and wasn't charged a deposit.

OK thank you. It seems in @Pat Magee case, at a minimum, the website is not up to date. We don't know yet re: the RVMs.

It does seem, as a distant observation, that there is a good possibility for data to fall out of sync. I would have expected when produced register their bar code with re-turn as DRS, any the other data then flows from that (i.e. website data, RVM data, retailer resources) on a scheduled basis and without manual operations. Apologies if reading that wrong, I appreciate your input.

Stores use a variety of different ways to update their items so it is not as simple as Re-turn giving a standard file to all retailers. Many have to manually enter the data as nobody built a portal to consume the file. Depends on which store/chain with some waiting for a time in the future to add this functionality.

The time frame to do the work was tight

Can you state where you found that this was how they were working out the collection rate previous to now as by all accounts it's not what they did......they were not able to get accurate collection figures....

Unique to Ireland? Really? I thought it copied the bestest of the bestest?

This is another issue I have, how public was the public consultation. I never knew about it.

Seems we are doing quite well!

Recycling and Recovery in 2022

In 2022, Repak and Ireland achieved a recycling rate of 63% and recovery rate of 95%.

Repak funded the recycling and recovery of 1,115,042 tonnes of packaging material – surpassing the one million tonnage mark for the fourth time. 759,149 tonnes in total were recycled in 2022 - a 6% increase on 2021. 

All key materials surpassed current EU recycling targets: Glass at 85% (EU target 60%). Paper/Cardboard 75%, (EU target 60%). Plastic 33% (EU target 22.5%). Wood 66% (EU target 15%). Metal 69% (EU target 50%). All materials, apart from plastic are forecasted to hit the 2025 targets.

https://repak.ie/images/uploads/downloads/Repak_Annual_Report_2022.pdf

You are correct that thermal paper lined with BPA shouldn't be recycled or composted but not all thermal paper is BPA lined. Whether these machines use BPA lined paper or not is hard to tell

I have got the deposit back on older cans no problem the past couple of days that were well before this stupid scheme was introduced. I had Coors beer cans I bought 6 months ago and I found a can of White Claw at the back of a drinks cupboard 2 years out of date and got refunded at the machine. From what I can see the barcode is the same on products no matter how old the product is so should be accepted. I could be totally wrong and just got lucky! Free money.

I suppose the best way of knowing for sure is go try it with an old can or bottle.

@Ray Palmer do you know if there is any clear definition of the 90%? It has been mentioned quite a bit on here, and in the press, but like anything it left open to interpretation.

I appreciate you may not know, maybe others do - but, as its core KPI, even its raison d'etre, I wonder how the 90% has been defined within re-turn.

Is it for example, simply calculated as 'No. deposits redeemed in period'/ 'No. deposits charged in period'? i.e. that the goal is minimum 90% of deposits returned come 2029. (Presumably re-turn have good enough dataset to be able to breakout that deposit return rate for PET and Aluminium separately, maybe by container size, producer, region, etc?)

If its just as above, then "90%" only means 'just DRS items' - it does not mean 'all PET plastic', or 'all aluminium' since not all PET packaging or aluminium packaging is a) DRS or b) redeemable.

Do we still have to report overall plastic and aluminium recycle rates, like we do today from repak (even based on weight estimates)? this may be beyond re-turn, but are there no increasing recovery targets set for them?

Not looking to have a fight about the data (?), I appreciate its not your area too, thank you for responding.

I think, in all good faith, numbers that will be reported need scrutiny.

If the EU mean for us to recover 90% of all plastic packaging by 2029, re-turn could well exceed 90% collection of DRS items and we would still miss the overall target. (I didn't think the EU meant 'only DRS' items, but I could be wrong?).

My main objection to re-turn is that it has been established to help with recovery of certain, cherry picked if you will, items only. Post Re-turns set up, we still have to deal with, at some point soon, the mixed waste going in our green bins. I have always felt, and stated here many times, that instead of creating re-turn, we should have invested in ways to improve household collection for all recyclable materials: better separation, less contamination, better downstream segregation, more regulation, etc, etc.

X% of all plastics, but also X% of all other materials should be the goal. In many ways, if all re-turn are going to tell is the % of deposits that are reclaimed, that particular statistic is not important. Its like reporting how the one hole in the bucket we've bothered to patch up now leaks less, while you ignore the leaks from every other hole.

If currently we get 60% returned via re-pack with a 95% percent recovery from that it bodes well. If we get the 90% return rate and use the current recovery systems hitting 95% it is likely we will get the same. I don't understand why you think with per-separated waste they will suddenly start putting it in landfill. Re-turn understand the goal so they are going to get it to recycling.

It really seems like you are nitpicking with no reason to find a fault. We will have to wait and see and you could be right in the end but it seems doubtful

not a fan of this at all in a personal capacity since i already recycle & dont drive, also live in a fairly cramped house so dont really have space to collect loads of bottles to make it more worth while.

but also been a pain in the whole in work since i work retail. impression given was this whole thing was kicking off on feb 1st, had been telling customer about it in preparation, lots already knew but others didn't. then of course the day comes, we dont have our machines (apparently will take a few weeks to get them) and re-turn anounce that there's now a 4 month transition period. some of a cans/bottles have the deposit charge, some had it and then it disappeared. none of them have the logo. tho apparently in contradition to what it says online till now , everyones been told it doesn't actually need the logo, but the special barcode. so people are buying mutiple drinks not knowing which has deposit & which doesn't, unless they check the app or their receipt. absolute disaster

A solution for your problem of storing the recycling in a cramped house, when you finish with the contents put the empty (rinsed if desired) container back in the fridge, or wherever you store the drink before drinking it. Then bring it with you then the next time you go shopping so no car required either 👍

Problem there is you're then paying somebody to do that so you have potential tax implications and it turns into a huge mess. Much easier and cheaper to place a refundable deposit

There was always a 4 month transition period. If your store charged and then stopped charging that is your store's responsibility and mistake.

I do think it strange you work in a retail store and are complaining you have to bring product back to a store and have no place to store them. Seems like the easy solution is to bring them into work in small batches

Pay as you earn? i said to make it tax free, certain jobs that benefit from the country are exempt from taxes, such as irish art or some things that contribute to the country. Recycling cans and picking up cans from the street can be seen as helping keep the streets cleaner. there is no prsi or universal social charge needed, no implications for paye, prsi, or usc at all. Bring cans back for cash is not a "job by the state", getting paid by the state for returning empties does'nt mean you're being employed by them.

as for the rest of what you said, no it would not defeat the point of this, instead it would be rewarding people for the recycling as a reward based incentive as opposed to a punishment based one where people feel forced into it. infact some people would go out of their way and be even more likely to go out looking for cans to bring as a result of it.

look at the end of the day people are still gonna waste cans regardless, i think it should be more fair to those who do partake in trying to help keep the environment cleaner while also at the same time rewarding them and not punishing housebound people.

The scheme as it already is punishing people who have already been recycling at home and does'nt really do much to punish the people causing the problem who throw cans out car windows. if anything its letting them get away with it and infact profitting from that problem