Ireland delivers verdict on paid recycling scheme now coming to the UK
Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), which sees consumers paid to recycle bottles and cans, has been controversial.
Ireland has delivered its verdict on its Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), which sees consumers paid to recycle bottles and cans - a version of which is coming to the UK in 2027.
The scheme launched in Ireland on February 1, 2024, and was designed (as the UK's upcoming paid-recycling scheme is) to reduce littering of plastic bottles and cans by paying for returns.
But Ireland's scheme has been controversial, with consumers complaining that machines would not pay out if cans were bent, according to the Irish Mirror.
How has Ireland's scheme performed?
Almost a billion (980 million) cans and bottles were returned during the first year of Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
The DRS reduced the littering of plastic bottles and cans by half, with up to three million containers now recycled every day.
During the first year, 84% of the Irish public participated in the scheme.
Ireland’s minister for climate, Darragh O'Brien, said, “In its first 12 months, the DRS has collected and recycled over 980 million bottles and cans and has dramatically reduced the number of those containers ending up as litter or being landfilled.”
How does Ireland’s DRS work?
Under Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme, a small deposit (15-25 cents) is added to the price when consumers buy drinks with the 'Re-turn' logo.
Consumers can get the money back by returning an empty, undamaged container to collection points (typically found at supermarkets).
The scheme affects bottles and cans 150ml and up.
When is Britain bringing in paid recycling?
The DRS will be introduced in October 2027 in England and Northern Ireland (Scotland is working on its own version of a DRS scheme).
How will the scheme work?
The British scheme mirrors successful ones in 50 other countries including Germany and Sweden: buyers of soft drinks will be charged a small fee when they buy disposable bottles.
This fee is then returned when the bottle is handed in at a designated collection point.
Collection points will be at public places like supermarkets, as in the Republic of Ireland.
Most small bottles and cans will be affected.
Anything from 150ml to three-litre single-use drinks containers made from plastic and metal will be included in the scheme.
Do the schemes work?
Such schemes tend to be very successful in persuading people to recycle bottles, with the materials then used to be recycled into new drinks containers.
The average return rate for European countries with a DRS is 90%, according to environmental group global eNGO Reloop.
In Germany, the return rate is 98%.