Clean-up on aisle five

Ireland’s new reverse vending machine scheme for bottles and cans has not got off to a smooth start. Consumers are complaining on social media that rejected items are piling up around the new machines.

Supermarkets including Tesco, Lidl and Aldi have installed recycling bins next to the machines to support the take-back scheme. The move comes because damaged products or those containing liquids have been dumped nearby.

Under the scheme, launched two weeks ago, retailers are not mandated to install the new system. Lidl, which was the first retailer to launch a trial scheme in September 2021, says it will install two machines at all of its 179 stores.

Tesco is also planning them at its locations across Ireland. Aldi is following suit at most of its stores.

Ireland’s environment minister Ossian Smyth says Irish consumers buy five million single-use beverage containers per day. He insists improving take-back schemes will greatly reduce litter and improve the country’s recycling rates.

‘We know deposit return schemes work,’ Smyth argues. ‘They operate effectively in over 40 countries around the world, including 15 in Europe, where the average EU collection rate is 92%.’

He goes on: ‘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.’