New figures show that between February and the end of August, consumers returned less than one in every two beverage containers with the Re-turn logo to the deposit-return scheme.
This means that tens of millions of euros have gone unclaimed in the first seven months of the scheme.
According to Ministry of the Environment figures, 1.016 billion returned containers were placed on the market during that period, and 460 million were returned during the same period, a return rate of 45%.
The scheme administrator, Return, disputes this 45% figure, but has not provided an alternative return rate for that period.
The recovery rates reported for this scheme are calculated as a proportion of the total volume of containers placed on the Irish market, based on the amount of containers collected for recycling.
The term “marketed” refers to the number of bottles and cans that are not actually sold, but are made available for sale or distribution by the producer.
This recovery rate of 45% means that €79.4 million of customer deposits were returned during that time.
The remaining 55% is worth around €97 million, but ‘placed on the market’ does not mean it has been sold, so it remains to be seen how much customer deposits remain unclaimed in the meantime. It is not possible to accurately estimate how much
Deposits that are not refunded are known as unredeemed deposits and are retained by the return to fund the operation of the deposit return scheme.
This is the first time that the number of returned containers released into the market has been made public since the system was launched.
The numbers confirm that the plan is off to a slow start.
In the first three months of the scheme, 368 million return containers were placed on the market, but only 75 million, or one-fifth, were returned.
I’ve recovered quite a bit since then.
In August, 112 million of the 154 million containers placed on the market were returned, a return rate of 73%.
However, the number of containers returned decreased in September, with 103 million returned.
However, data on containers placed on the market, i.e. return rates for September, is not yet available, so it is still unclear what the return rates will be for that month.
A ministry spokesperson said Return collects this information from producers on a monthly lag, and that requesting, collecting, analyzing and verifying this data takes time.
Returns said in a statement that the use of cumulative average return rates is not an accurate measure of current performance.
“It is important to make clear that the figures for containers ‘on the market’ do not correspond to actual sales,” the report said.
“Using this figure to make calculations such as estimates of overall returns or unclaimed deposits since launch is therefore inaccurate and does not reflect scheme performance or consumer engagement. yeah.
“Apart from this, using the cumulative average rate of return from the start date of the scheme is not an accurate measure of current performance and does not reflect the substantial progress made by the scheme and the Irish people. The statement that the company achieved a rate of return of 45%, or that 55% of its deposits were unclaimed during this period, is factually incorrect.
“Since the scheme’s inception, return rates have shown continued growth, reaching 73% by August. This upward trend is due to strong public engagement and our commitment to making return points more accessible. is a more up-to-date and accurate representation of the success of this system across Ireland. ”
It is not clear from this statement why Re-turn considers the August return rate to be correct, but the seven-month total to be incorrect.
The statement continued: “At this early stage, we expect a large volume of active deposits that have not yet been collected, as consumers return deposits at varying rates and often store containers for long periods of time before returning them.” The term “unredeemed” does not apply to these containers because they are active and may be returned at any time.
“It is important to note that Re-turn is a nonprofit organization.”
The latest Irish Business to Litter survey results, published in June, showed that the scheme would result in 30% fewer drinks cans thrown away and 20% fewer plastic bottles thrown on the streets.
In recent weeks, Coastwatch has similarly reported a significant reduction in the number of plastic bottles and aluminum cans washing up on Irish beaches since the introduction of the scheme.
Last week, Dublin City Council began refurbishing a number of bins in the city center to prevent scavenging of plastic bottles and cans, which litter the streets and pose a safety risk.
