150 million drinks containers returned under scheme

New figures from the operators of the Deposit Return Scheme indicate that 150 million drinks containers have been returned through a network of 2,300 Reverse Vending Machines around the country.

According to Re-Turn, the company operating the scheme which came into effect on 1 February, return levels have being growing strongly month on month, with over 75 million containers returned in the month of May alone.

Average daily returns now sit at 2.5 million units, compared to February, the first month of the scheme when two million units were returned in the entire month.

Today is the last day of the transition period for retailers to sell off old supplies of drink cans or plastic bottles that were not marked with the return logo.

From tomorrow, it is a legal requirement for all products on sale to carry the logo.

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Meanwhile, Re-turn is due to announce a new charity partnership in the coming weeks, to which some funding from the scheme will be given.

Ahead of that announcement, staff from the company are collecting drink containers at the Bloom Festival in Phoenix Park over the coming days, the deposits of which will go the charity partnership.