Over 50,000 bottles returned each month in small Wexford shop
"This figure is increasing month after month and is a true testament to the community helping to protect our environment by playing their part in leading us towards a more sustainable future by valuing our resources and increasing recycling rates,' one of the members explained.
They also highlighted the fact that a plastic bottle can be recycled up to seven times while aluminium cans may be recycled infinitely.
"As a circular economy initiative, the Deposit Return Scheme is helping the community to move away from the 'take, make and dispose' culture to one of returning valuable materials, and keeping them in the economy for as long as possible,' they added.
They were also pleased to recently note a huge reduction in litter along the roads during their scheduled litter picks in the lead up to the adjudicating period.
Many residents have also been observed taking part in a 'two minute street clean' when they come across litter and discarded waste in the town and around bins.
The Supervalu Tidy Towns competition is adjudicated by an independent panel during the months of June, July, and August. The secret assessments focus on litter control, tidiness, and the physical state of the area's environment.
There are eight categories including; Community – Your Planning and Involvement, Streetscape and Public Places, Green Spaces and Landscaping, Nature and Biodiversity in your Locality, Sustainability-Doing more with less, Tidiness and Litter Control, Residential Streets and Housing Areas, Approach Roads, Streets and Lanes, with a total of 550 points possible.
Once the winners are announced in September, all entrants will receive their assessment reports.
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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
Fifty new bottle return bin surrounds introduced in Dublin
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Sunday World
6 days ago
- Sunday World
Irish consumers turn their back on €66.7m as they fail to cash in on Deposit Return Scheme
The annual report shows Re-turn recorded revenues of €114.4m in 2024 Irish consumers last year turned their back on €66.7 million when they failed to cash in their deposits for soft drink containers through the Government's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). That is according to the 2024 annual report for Re-turn which shows that the failure by consumers to redeem the €66m worth in deposits for their soft drink containers was the chief reason behind the State backed firm to record a pre-tax surplus of €51.3m for 2024. Established by Government, Re-Turn went live with its Deposit Return Scheme operations on February 1st 2024 with the aim to significantly increase the recycling rates of bottles and cans. Last year, 877.85m containers were returned made up of 433.2m plastic bottles and 444.6m cans. The annual report shows Re-turn recorded revenues of €114.4m in 2024. This included the €66.7m in unredeemed deposits and €47.7m made up of €17.2m from the sale of material and €30.5m from 'producer fees'. The annual report discloses that the income from unredeemed deposits has resulted in a VAT settlement by Re-turn of €23.7m. . News in 90 Seconds - Aug 9th The company's 2024 costs totalled €62.2m made up of direct collection and recycling costs of €46.5m and administrative expenses of €1.5.7m which included a spend of €4.6m on 'marketing, communications, and public awareness'. The report states that the €66.7m reflects the recognition of unredeemed deposits for the financial year and 'this is after a €36.5m estimate of deposits expected to be returned post year end'. The report states that 'unredeemed deposits are an expected and routine scenario for deposit return schemes and it was anticipated that in the initial transition period redemptions would be low and therefore there would be a high level of unredeemed deposits. The report states that "as a not-for-profit organisation, in the early stages of our maturity, the fees from unredeemed containers are being reinvested in a number of ways". These include paying off initial scheme set-up costs; infrastructure development; consumer education campaigns and contributing to our legally required contingency reserve The report adds that income from unredeemed deposits 'is expected to significantly reduce as the scheme reaches its targeted redemptions of 90% in the coming years'. The report states that 'in the long term, should unredeemed deposits be higher than forecast, we would support initiatives that drive increased adoption of the scheme as well as investing in broader innovative projects designed to further the country's circular economy strategy'. The report states that Re-turn closed the year with a cash balance of €89.8m. The report states that this cash figure will reduce significantly in 2025 when several significant draw-downs are scheduled and after accounting for these factors the adjusted cash balance would reduce to approximately €32m. The significant draw-downs include a VAT settlement on unredeemed deposits of €23.7m; a provision of €13.8m for Re-turn's contingency reserve fund; a settlement of the remaining €11.7m balance of the facility agreement with Bank of Ireland grant settlement of c.€3.2m to retailers in respect of 2024 and a provision of €5.4m for corporation tax arising on surplus in the scheme. In comments attached to the report, CEO of Re-turn, Ciaran Foley has stated: 'Thanks to the incredible buy-in and adoption from the Irish public, 877 million containers were returned through DRS in 2024, equating to an average 66% post transition period recycling rate. He said: 'The seasonality of the soft drinks market was reflected in some even higher months, such as in August when the return rate reached 75%. Every 1% increase equates to around 19 million containers, and we recorded some daily returns of over 5 million products over the Christmas period. Chair of Re-turn, Tony Keohane stated that the launch of Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in February 2024 marked a defining milestone in the country's journey toward a more sustainable future. He said: 'From a standing start in Autumn 2022, the scheme collected more than 877 million drinks containers in its first 11 months. In that short time, we've seen Irish consumers recycle more bottles and cans than ever before and do so in a way that produces high quality recyclate, helping build a truly circular economy.'
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Irish Times
Irish consumers missed out on €66.7m in uncashed bottle deposit returns last year
Irish consumers missed out on €66.7 million last year when they failed to cash in their deposits for soft drink containers through the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Re-turn's 2024 annual report shows the failure to redeem these depositswas the chief reason behind the State-backed firm recording a pretax surplus of €51.3 million last year. Established by the Government, Re-Turn began its DRS operations on February 1st, 2024 with the aim to significantly increase the recycling rates of bottles and cans. Last year, 877.85 million containers were returned, made up of 433.2 million plastic bottles and 444.6 million cans. READ MORE Re-turn recorded revenues of €114.4 million in 2024. This included the €66.7 million in unredeemed deposits and €47.7 million made up of €17.2 million from the sale of material and €30.5 million from 'producer fees'. The company's 2024 costs totalled €62.2 million, made up of direct collection and recycling costs of €46.5 million and administrative expenses of €15.7 million, which included a spend of €4.6 million on 'marketing, communications, and public awareness'. Influencers beware, Revenue is on the prowl Listen | 48:38 The report says 'unredeemed deposits are an expected and routine scenario for deposit return schemes and it was anticipated that in the initial transition period redemptions would be low and therefore there would be a high level of unredeemed deposits'. The report for the not-for-profit states, 'the fees from unredeemed containers are being reinvested in a number of ways'. These include paying off initial scheme set-up costs, infrastructure development, consumer education campaigns and contributing to its legally required contingency reserve. Income from unredeemed deposits 'is expected to significantly reduce as the scheme reaches its targeted redemptions of 90 per cent in the coming years'. Re-turn chief executive Ciarán Foley said: 'Thanks to the incredible buy-in and adoption from the Irish public, 877 million containers were returned through DRS in 2024, equating to an average 66 per cent post-transition period recycling rate. 'The seasonality of the soft drinks market was reflected in some even higher months, such as in August when the return rate reached 75 per cent. Every 1 per cent increase equates to around 19 million containers.'
