Re-turn, set up in 2022 by beverage producers to manage Ireland’s Deposit Return Scheme, has paid out total compensation of €700,000 to chief executive Ciarán Foley and private sector executives who sit on its board.
The not-for-profit company has faced pressure from Opposition politicians to disclose the remuneration paid to its top staff.
The Deposit Return Scheme was launched in early 2024 in an attempt to increase recycling rates and reduce waste, but faced a rocky start. Pricewatch readers wrote in to express frustrations with the scheme, while Liveline listeners took to the phones about costs and the hassle.
There have been concerns raised around littering, with Dublin City Council suggesting limiting access to the scheme to individuals with registered domestic waste collection contracts in a bid to reduce “opportunistic” bin scavenging.
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However, the numbers using the scheme have increased year-on-year. Advocates point to a significant increase in recycling as a result of the scheme’s introduction. Some 1.4 billion cans and bottles were returned last year, up from 877 million in 2024. The return rate rose from 53.9 to 76.4 per cent.
If you have thoughts around the scheme, The Irish Times would like to hear them.
Do you see it as a positive force for recycling cans and bottles? Have you used the service in large and small retailers? How have you found using the machines? Are you a retailer and how have you found machine maintenance?
Have you noticed an increase in people looking through bins, or seen an increase in rubbish being removed from bins and scattered on footpaths in search of returnable bottles and cans? Do you think the environmental benefits outweigh any possible negatives?
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