Latest news with #Re-Turn
The Journal
25-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Re-Turn says plastic-to-plastic bottle recycling in Ireland is not 'financially viable'
THE COMPANY OVERSEEING Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme has defended itself following criticism made in the Dáil claiming that almost 90% of the plastic that is collected is being 'needlessly' shipped around the world rather than recycled domestically. Scheme operator Re-Turn said the vast majority of the plastic currently has to be transported abroad because it has not been financially viable to recycle plastic bottles into new drink containers in Ireland. A spokesperson for the company said that Ireland 'does not have the facilities to fully recycle' plastic bottles and aluminium cans that are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material into new, 'food-safe' drink containers. It's because – until the scheme was established last year – there was no central operator handling recycled plastics and 'no facility in Ireland' can recycle a higher quality type of the raw material. But the company hopes that the Deposit Return Scheme is creating 'steady supply of high-quality' material, which it said is 'essential for setting up the necessary infrastructure in Ireland'. Re-Turn made its comments in response to a statement by Sinn Féin TD for Cavan Monaghan, Matt Carthy, who said this week that it was a 'scandal' that the vast majority of waste leaves Ireland as part of the recycling process. 'By June of this year 17,000 tonnes of plastic will have been collected under the scheme,' Carthy said. 'But only 3,400 of that will have been recycled in Ireland. That means that 88% of plastic collected under this 'environmental' scheme is actually being shipped off to locations across the world.' Carthy instead proposed a company in his own constituency of Cavan-Monaghan as being in a position to collect and recycle the material. Advertisement 'Creating local employment, contributing to the Irish economy – providing an environmentally sound point to recycle plastic collected in Ireland,' he added. The Deposit Return Scheme sees people pay extra for their drinks in bottles and cans but they can reclaim this afterwards in machines in supermarkets. In February , it hit a milestone of one billion returned drinks containers. Carthy said the amount shipped abroad was 'madness' and also 'ran contrary' to the environmental objective that the scheme is meant to address. The TD's office said he had received the figures from industry sources. When contacted by The Journal , Re-Turn did not dispute Carthy's figure of 88% plastic shipped abroad and outlined that most of the material currently goes to the UK and Europe. A spokesperson for Re-Turn said that Ireland 'does not have the facilities to fully recycle' plastic bottles and aluminium cans made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material into new, food-safe drink containers. The flakes from these recycled plastics are regarded as of higher quality and can be used as a raw material in various industries for creating new products, such as polyester fibres, new bottles or packaging materials. 'A key step in fully recycling PET plastic bottles is turning them into food-grade plastic pellets, but no facility in Ireland can currently do this,' the Re-Turn spokesperson told The Journal . The spokesperson added that while some facilities in Ireland can partially recycle plastic from the Deposit Return Scheme by processing it into PET flakes, the machinery required to turn these flakes into new drink bottles are not currently in operation in Ireland. This means that the 'majority of material is sent to fully licensed recycling facilities in Europe and the UK', the spokesperson said. 'The best way to change this is by making local bottle to bottle recycling financially viable. The Deposit Return Scheme is contributing to this by ensuring a steady supply of high-quality recylate material, which is essential for setting up the necessary infrastructure in Ireland and meeting EU recycling targets,' the Re-Turn spokesperson said. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Examiner
12-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Life Hack: How to recycle your beauty empties and earn free replacements at the same time
We are marking Sustainability Month this May and while recycling is a non-negotiable for most of us, the hack I'm sharing this week is how to make the most of loyalty schemes that take hard-to-recycle beauty products off your hands for recycling, and offer points you can convert into free products to replenish your supplies. In recent years, we have all — thankfully — become more conscious of the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle. Recycling in particular is an area we are deeply familiar with, from sorting our household bins into waste, compost, glass and recycling, to taking part in the Re-Turn scheme over the past year. The Re-Turn scheme in particular has highlighted how recycling can help you to save money. For example, I add the money from my returned cans and bottles to a gift card for my local supermarket to make a family Christmas dinner feel free at the end of the year. While saving money is one very useful outcome, you can also be smart about your recycling in other ways, so it gets you free products to replace what you've been recycling. Here's how two big brands are incentivising customers to recycle their empty products. Boots CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB Many products cannot be popped into your recycling bin due to being travel size, the materials they're made from and other factors. Wondering how best to recycle that mascara or lipstick tube? Or even your used toothpaste tube? Take the stress out of guessing and bring them to your local Boots. Recycle at Boot allows you to bring empty beauty, health, wellness, and dental products from any brand that can't be recycled at home while rewarding you for recycling. To take part and earn Advantage Card points, download the Recycle at Boots app and sign up. Upload images of your eligible recyclables, and once these are verified on the app, you can drop them off in your local store. Scan the QR code in the shop and deposit at least five items to instantly earn a reward voucher. With this voucher, you can earn 500 points when used with a spend of €10 or more. The scheme uses Scan2Recycle technology to help the environment and reward customers. It is aimed at hard-to-recycle products but will also accept most hard-to-recycle products sold in Boots stores. After dropping off the empties, they will be washed and sorted, ready for recycling into new usable products. Any remaining multi-material items will be recycled into Stormboard, a composite construction board material, similar to plywood, which has a lot of different uses. Organics will be processed through an industrial organics processor. Nothing goes to landfill, and nothing is incinerated. Sculpted by Aimee Aimee Connolly's popular makeup brand encourages the recycling of empty products through ReSculpted, helping customers earn points for the Beauty Club loyalty programme ( Members of this can earn points with purchases and other activities, including recycling empty makeup and skincare products. For every five empties you bring to them, you will earn 1,000 points, which can be redeemed on products, money off vouchers, and more. However, sheet masks and aerosols are not accepted for this. There is no need to rinse the packaging as long as there is no excess product inside. They can be returned by post, even if they have been cut up to use up every bit of the product inside. Pack the empties — at least five — and visit An Post Returns. Select Sculpted By Aimee from the retailer dropdown and choose ReSculpted as your reason for return. Enter your full name and email address, and remember to include a small note inside the parcel with your email and name to ensure you receive your Sculpted Rewards points. Products can also be recycled in-store. There is a recycling facility at their Grafton Street store for customers to recycle their used Sculpted by Aimee products and earn reward points. Read More Life Hack: How to clean forgotten areas like doors and skirting boards
