YOU know the drill when you head out for the weekly ‘big shop’ by now...
Car keys? Check.
Bank card or cash? Check.
Plenty of bags so you don’t have to actually spend money on them? Double check.
Money-off coupons? Check.
Shopping list and pen? Check.
Now, you’re all ready to swan off down those aisles...
But wait! Starting next week, there will be a new item to add to that supermarket checklist. It’s one that will send many of us on a trip down memory lane to the days of our youth.
Empty bottles and cans.
Yep! The old returnables are making a comeback, in exchange for cash, just like when we were kids and we collected used glass bottles and jam jars and made a few quid in pocket money.
Except, this time, it will be the adults doing the returning - and we will specifically be bringing back our empty plastic bottles and aluminium cans to the supermarkets.
It promises to be the biggest shake-up in our shopping habits since the Plastic Bag Levy was introduced in Ireland in March, 2001.
You might have heard about the new Deposit Return Scheme, which comes into effect on Thursday, February 1, and put it to the back of your mind, since every January seems to comprise of 60 days.
Well, now it’s time to sit up and take notice.
Before I go into the many ways this scheme will be of benefit to us all, a brief explainer:
The Deposit Return Scheme has already been introduced in many countries around Europe and the world, including Australia and Germany, and been a big success.
It will mean that, from February 1 in Ireland, when consumers buy a plastic bottle or aluminium can that has the ‘Re-turn’ logo, they will notice they are paying a little more for it - this extra sum is a fully refundable deposit which the consumer will get back when they return the empty plastic bottle or aluminium can.
The returns can go back to any participating shop or supermarket nationwide.
(During the changeover to the new system, there will inevitably be some old stock not marked with the ‘Re-turn’ logo: there is no extra payment or refund for them, and those empties just go into your own recycling bin at home as normal).
We’re not talking big sums here, either 15 cents or 25 cents per bottle or can, depending on the amount of stock inside, from 150mls to 3 litres. This is the sum added to the product price, and the sum you get back when you return the empties.
So, it might amount to a few euro per week for a typical household.
The majority of retailers have signed up for the scheme, and the consumer can return their empty bottles and cans to either a Reverse Vending Machine (RVM), which will have been obtained by the retailer and be located in or around the supermarket, or manually, over the counter.
The RVMs will issue a voucher that can be redeemed at the till, while the consumer gets a refund when dealing over the counter.
There is a map on the website www.re-turn.ie to indicate where to find deposit return points in your locality.
Note that the bottles and cans will need to be empty and undamaged when they are returned, so don’t crush or squeeze them!
As with any change to our routines, some people will grumble about this new-fangled way of doing things - but it really is quite simple: You pay a little extra money out, and get that money back soon after, so long as you buy into the scheme.
Of course, the benefits of the Deposit Return Scheme will be blindingly obvious to all.
We need to cut down on our plastic production, and this will ensure we do just that, enabling plastic bottles and aluminium cans to be used over and over and curbing the amount of plastic being made.
Germany, where the deposit system has been working like a dream for 21 years, has achieved a remarkable 98% return rate on eligible single-use drink containers.
We in Ireland are laggards.
We currently recycle between 60-70% of drinks containers, and the European Union has set us a target to separate and collect 77% of plastic beverage bottles by 2025; a target that will rise to 90% in 2029.
Think of all the plastic discarded on our roadsides, and on our beaches and seas. Reducing the amount we use by constantly recycling what we have is a no-brainer, and won’t be much of an inconvenience at all.
That is incentive enough.
However, there may be another bonus to the deposit return scheme, once it gets up and running.
What if the system could introduce a way for people to divert their refund to charity? After all, we’re only talking about a few euro a week here.
It could go to a different charity every week or month, or the donor could choose which charity to give to from a list provided.
Good causes could rake in tens of millions of euro a year under such a system, or perhaps the refund money could go to environmental causes, in keeping with the ethos of the scheme.
A survey a few years ago in the UK found that 20% of people would donate deposit refunds to good causes if such a system was in place there. A further 53% said they would donate some or most of the time.
We in Ireland have proven time and again to be generous donors to charities, and I reckon we would have a higher take-up of donors for charitable causes than that.
Think about it: Every household, from a single occupant to a large family, or even businesses and organisations like the GAA, will be engaging with this deposit scheme, the entire country has a role to play.
Rather than a few coins in our palms each week, this could instead become a major driver for fund-raising on a vast scale.
There may be another way of helping those less fortunate than ourselves when this scheme is launched next week.
In Germany, shops have reported that homeless people congregate near to some Reverse Vending Machines and ask people if they can take their empty bottles and cans for the refunds. Some people complain to the authorities and say it can be intimidating, but others welcome the chance to help a person in need.
Make sure you get the lowdown on this important scheme ahead of its launch next Thursday. See the website www.re-turn.ie for information.
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