Ireland’s Reverse Vending Machine Initiative is a Huge Success

While bottle and can recycling has been around for decades, the Irish government has come up with a way to get people to get onboard with a new initiative that will greatly increase the numbers that are collected. Instead of putting bottles and cans in a recycling bin, now you can recycle them in a reverse vending machine located in participating shops and supermarkets.

Beginning in February 2024, people who purchased beverages— with a special Re-turn logo —  paid a small deposit of 15 or 25 cents depending on the size of the container, according to a government press release. They can get their money-back in a voucher for goods or cash when they return the empties to the reverse vending machines.

The initiative was planned to boost recycling rates, cut down on litter, and the amount of bottles and cans that are sent to landfills or incinerated. The bottles and cans that go through the machines can then be recycled and turned into new beverage containers, as a part of a Circular Economy.

While the initiative is still fairly  new in Ireland, it has been successful in other countries. “We know deposit return schemes work — they operate effectively in over 40 countries around the world, including 15 in Europe, where the average EU collection rate is 92 percent, Ossian Smyth, minister of state with responsibility for communications and the circular economy, said in the press release.

“By giving these containers a financial value, it incentivizes consumers to return them. I think people in Ireland will really get behind this scheme and make it a great success; we saw this with the introduction of the plastic bag levy and the Euro,” he added.

How it works
The initiative is being run by Deposit Return Scheme Ireland, known as Re-turn and according to the company, over 600 million drinks containers have been returned through the machines. Almost 900,000 were returned at participating festivals and sporting events. Many of the return vouchers were donated to the Return for Children charity initiative which supports six national children’s charities.

The reverse vending machine plan was developed to help Ireland meet the EU’s recycling targets, reported The Guardian.  The amount of recycled containers must hit 77 percent by 2025 and 90 percent by 2029. This required a major shift in people’s actions regarding recycling.

“Ultimately, it’s a pretty easy way of people feeling good about themselves, because a lot of people do want to do recycling, to do the right thing for the planet,” Ciaran Foley, chief executive of Re-turn, told The Guardian.

Participating retailors pay for the vending machines but they receive 2.2 cents per container that goes into the machines. If people put cans and bottles from Northern Ireland, these markets will not even break-even. That’s why major suppliers are now producing Irish-only barcodes.

The public’s reaction
While there was initial confusion and hesitation when the initiative first launched, the numbers show that the concept has been widely embraced. Returns started slow at 2 million a month and grew to 110 million a month ,according to recent figures. With a population of 5 million, this is a very good start.

Ciava Dunning, a train driver on the Dublin Westport line, said that she noticed people carry their rubbish off the train now, whereas before they left it behind.

Dunning was originally reluctant to collect the empties in her home because she lives with four other women but she now uses the reverse vending machine. She said, “I didn’t like carrying around the bags and we weren’t too pushed about it, but then you don’t want to waste the €0.15 deposit, so you get used to it.”

John Eustace who was returning 44 bottles said that in his office they take turns returning the empties and then use the vouchers to buy milk and other things for the office. ”It’s like the office petty cash,” he said.

Since PET plastics can be recycled numerous times and aluminum cans can be recycled indefinitely, having consumers returning empties is helping to reduce the use of new materials, energy, and emissions.  This will help to establish a circular economy and a more sustainable future for Ireland.