‘Scheme or scam’... Re-turn responds to local consumers’ negative feedback

Hannah McNamara

It's been one month since Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme to restrict drink container waste went live and Meath consumers are not happy with the scheme's structure.

The Deposit Return Scheme involves consumers purchasing a drink in a plastic bottle or aluminium can featuring the Re-turn logo, and paying a fully refundable deposit in addition to the price of the drink. When the empty and undamaged drinks containers are returned to participating shops and supermarkets nationwide, consumers will receive their full deposit refund.

Over 705,000 transactions were recorded in the month of February, resulting in over two million drinks containers being returned to participating shops and supermarkets nationwide.

CEO of Re-turn, Ciaran Foley said: “I am really encouraged by the support and participation shown by Irish consumers during the first month of the scheme. To have over two million deposit returns at this early stage shows a willingness and commitment to reducing litter, protecting our environment and better recycling.”

When the scheme launched on 1st February, Re-turn informed customers that only bottles and cans purchased after this date are eligible for a deposit refund, as these drinks containers will have had a deposit charged.

However, shoppers have been sharing how they are being charged the deposit on items not featuring a Re-turn logo.

Seeking an answer to this issue, Meath Chronicle were told by Re-turn: “Retailers have a four-month transition period during which they can sell both new drinks containers with the Re-turn logo and older drinks containers that do not feature this logo. During this time, drinks containers can incur a deposit in two ways; by having the Re-turn logo with a registered barcode or by having a barcode that is registered as part of the scheme without the Re-turn logo.

“Any consumer who pays a deposit on a drinks container, with or without a logo, during the transition phase will receive a full refund of the deposit when they return the item clean and undamaged to a Reverse Vending Machine in participating shops and supermarkets nationwide.

“In the unlikely event the drinks container you paid a deposit on is rejected by an RVM, please inform the retailer in the first instance. If the deposit issue persists, consumers can contact Re-turn by email or by chat via the website.”

Checking

They added: “Drinks containers without the Re-turn logo but have incurred a deposit must be returned through a Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) only. As manual return points rely on checking for the Re-turn logo, they cannot identify containers that have incurred a cost without a logo. Starting from June 1st, all drinks containers will feature the Re-turn logo. “

On the month mark of the launch of this scheme, 1st March, Meath Chronicle shared a post to social media to see what the consumers were thinking so far. The Meath shoppers were far from happy with the scheme.

Machines being out of order and refusing to take bottles, was one of the biggest issues mentioned. One user commented: “I had a bin bag full of bottles and cans and when I went to Lidl the other day the machine accepted three bottles and that was all. I ended up bringing them back and putting them into my recycling bin at home. I definitely won’t be doing that every week.”

Another called the scheme “absolutely ridiculous”. They added: “From the machines that are shut, to those not working, then ones that won't accept your bottles at that particular bank.”

Re-turn responded to the claims of machines not functioning correctly: “We are aware of reports regarding Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) experiencing temporary downtime and appreciate consumers' understanding and patience on this matter. Nationally, the RVM system is currently operating at an 85 per cent uptime across the network, with this number steadily increasing. If a consumer notices a temporarily out-of-order machine, they should alert the retailer and request the machine be returned to normal function.”

Shoppers who are going to the effort to return their bottles and cans, feel 'misled' by the scheme as they claim some stores are denying cash refunds and only giving store credit.

Consumers

The refund policy stated on the Re-turn website states: “You can choose to use your voucher to buy something in that specific shop or to refund your voucher for cash.”

Re-turn confirmed with the Meath Chronicle: “Consumers have the choice to receive their refund against a store-bought purchase or in cash.”

Another common issue amongst consumers was that their drinks containers were only being accepted at certain stores, when the policy is that you can return the items to 'any participating store'. Clearing up this claim, Re-turn said: “Consumers can return drinks containers to any return point regardless of where they bought them.”

Among the comments on Meath Chronicle's social media was hundreds of people questioning the environmental impact of this scheme.

The idea of getting into a vehicle to drive to these recycling machines, “causing more pollution and traffic”, only to be rejected and have to bring the items home to your wheelie bin, had consumers doubting the scheme’s worth.

Target

Re-turn once again shared their overall goal, explaining why this scheme is beneficial to the environment:

“The Deposit Return Scheme is a practical circular economy initiative that aims to create a closed loop recycling system guaranteeing the material is returned and recycled. The EU has set Ireland a target to separate and collect 77 per cent of plastic beverage bottles and aluminium cans by 2025. This target will rise to 90 per cent in 2029. We currently recycle approximately 60 per cent of drinks containers and Deposit Return is a proven method of increasing recycling rates, with great success in several other European countries. With the separate collection of drinks containers, there is no cross contamination and a higher quality of recyclate is collected, which is more efficient.

“By placing a value on the drinks containers, we are encouraging consumers to return their bottles and cans in order to get their deposit back and discourage littering. The Deposit Return Scheme is a circular economy initiative that aims to create a closed loop recycling system guaranteeing the material is returned and recycled into new drinks containers.”

While majority of the comments were negative, there were still very few consumers hopeful about the scheme: “The system will hopefully improve and expand to include more items,” one user wrote.