'Tús Maith Leath na hOibre' – Minister Smyth delighted with latest data from the DRS

• DRS achieved a monthly collection rate of 73% after its first 200 days, placing Ireland well on track to meet its EU target
• 635 million containers have been returned to date, with €110 million deposits refunded to consumers
• €70,000 collected for the Return for Children charity initiative

The Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with special responsibility for Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth, today welcomed the latest data on the performance of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) provided to him by Re-turn, the DRS operator.

Uptake of the DRS has been very positive to date and, since the scheme was launched on 1 February 2024, over 635 million containers have been returned and €110 million in deposits refunded to consumers. The major milestone of half a billion containers was reached in mid-September and average monthly rates are now regularly exceeding 100 million containers.

An update was provided by Re-turn to Minister Smyth on the scheme, with a focus on performance since the start-up transition period ended in May. According to this update, the monthly collection rate has been steadily increasing and at the end of August was at 73%, placing Ireland well on track to achieve its EU collection target of 77% by the end of 2025, increasing to 90% by 2029.

Minister Smyth said:

Ciaran Foley, CEO of Re-turn, said:

"The significant milestone in August shows the public is already engaging with the scheme and highlights how far it has come, in terms of participation and support. It's particularly gratifying to see how the scheme has taken off at a grassroots level, with community and charity organisations using it for fundraising. However, we are still only at the beginning, and there is much more to do. The early momentum is promising, but we’re focused on building long-term success. We look forward to seeing the further positive effects of deposit return in litter prevention, community initiatives, and its contribution to a more sustainable Ireland."

ENDS

Collection rate

• A key objective of the Deposit Return Scheme is the achievement of Ireland’s EU separate collection target for plastic beverage bottles as mandated by the Single Use Plastics Directive– 90% by 2029, with an interim target of 77% by 2025
• The annual collection rate is calculated based on the volume of containers collected for recycling as a percentage of total volume of containers placed on the Irish market each year. Placed on the market data captures the number of bottles and cans made available by producers for sale or distribution, not sales figures
• While these interim results provide a positive indication of performance, until a full year operation is completed, it will be premature to draw definitive conclusions on this data. This first year period is essential to allow the scheme to stabilise and mature
• All DRS data is provisional until official statistics, produced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are submitted to the EU. An 18-month reporting timeline is provided by the EU in acknowledgement of the complexities around gathering, collating and verifying this type of data. Our first report, for 2022, was submitted by the EPA in June 2024, with a collection rate of 49%
• The monthly collection rate has been steadily increasing and at the end of August was at 73%, placing Ireland well on track to achieve its EU collection target of 77% by the end of 2025

Impact of DRS on the environment

• The introduction of DRS was one of the most positive consumer behaviour initiatives to happen in this country for decades. It is doing two vital things – reducing litter and combating the scourge of single-use plastics on the environment, by ensuring that these containers get separately collected for recycling
• Participation in DRS has been very positive and, since the scheme was launched on 1 February, almost 635 million bottles and cans have been returned, with average daily rates now regularly exceeding 3 million containers. This equates to €110 million in deposits refunded to consumers
• Bottles and cans have always been a high-volume component of litter. The latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) results, published in June, provide an early indication that DRS is contributing to lower litter levels nationwide. These results showed a 30% reduction in drinks cans thrown away and a 20% reduction in plastic bottles on our streets. The results are very promising, particularly given that the DRS was still in the transition phase during the survey period (April/May 2024)
• Similar results have been reported by CoastWatch, who have found a massive reduction in plastic bottles and aluminium cans washing up on the Irish shoreline since the introduction of the DRS. The results of CoastWatch’s Autumn survey will be published later this year

Re-turn – the DRS operator

• The DRS is an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, whereby producers are given responsibility for the collection and disposal of their products. As with the other EPRs, it is the responsibility of producers to establish the DRS and to nominate an operator of the scheme, for approval by the Minister
• In July 2022, the Minister approved an application from Deposit Return Scheme Ireland (trading as Re-turn), on behalf of the Irish beverage industry, as the DRS operator. No other applications were received by the Minister
• Re-turn, and thus the DRS, is funded through producer fees, the sale of material collected and unredeemed deposits. Re-turn operates on a not-for-profit basis, which means that any profits made by the company must be reinvested exclusively for the development of the DRS scheme
• Re-turn is responsible for all operational and funding matters relating to the DRS. While the Minister has no function in the day-to-day business operations of the company, there are a range of regulatory and administrative controls in place to monitor the scheme and the department receives regular updates on its performance