In 2024, the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) was launched in Ireland, requiring consumers to pay a deposit on any bottles or cans purchased, with this to be refunded when the container was recycled at specific return sites.
According to the Re-turn website, more than 3.2 billion cans and bottles have been returned so far. It says litter has been cut by 55 per cent since the scheme’s launch.
How does the scheme work?
Consumers pay a refundable deposit when purchasing an eligible drink in a plastic bottle or aluminium or steel can displaying the Re-turn logo.
The deposits are charged at 15 cent for containers from 150ml to 500ml and 25 cent for containers of more than 500ml and up to 3 litres.
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Empty and undamaged containers can be returned through a reverse vending machine or manual return point. The deposit is then refunded, normally through a voucher redeemable at the relevant retailer, a spokesman for Re-turn said.
How is the scheme funded?
Re-turn is a not-for-profit organisation. The DRS is an extended producer-responsibility scheme funded through producer fees, unredeemed deposits and income from the sale of recyclable materials.
It operates independently under ministerial approval and the scheme is not Government-funded, a spokesman said.
According to its 2025 annual report, Re-turn’s key sources of income include producer and importer fees, sales of collected material and unredeemed deposits.
Its costs include collecting, processing and recycling, engaging the public and running and enhancing the scheme.
What is done with all the bottles and cans?
A spokesman for Re-turn said returned containers are collected, sorted, baled and sold to specialist reprocessors for recycling.
Material captured through the DRS is collected separately from other recyclable materials that would be collected in dry recycling bins.
Seeing as the material is collected separately, there is no cross contamination and the scheme produces recycled material with purity levels of at least 98 per cent.
This exceeds the about 95 per cent purity level required to process PET into food-grade recycled material for new drinks containers, the spokesman said.
Ireland does not have a facility capable of processing collected bottles into food-grade recycled PET for new drinks containers, so the material is exported to specialist reprocessors.
The scheme is generating enough PET to support the commercial viability of domestic bottle-to-bottle recycling capacity, and Re-turn is progressing a competitive process to develop one, the spokesman said.
What happens to the money not claimed back?
Unredeemed deposits form part of the scheme’s funding model.
In 2025, the net unredeemed deposit income stood at €60.1 million, a €6.6 million decrease from 2024, when the net unredeemed deposit income was €66.7 million.
Re-turn uses unclaimed money to meet the costs of operating the scheme, including retailer handling fees, transport and logistics, infrastructure investment, consumer education, technology, staffing and other operational expenses, a spokesman said.
As return rates increase towards the scheme’s 90 per cent target by 2029, income from unredeemed deposits is expected to decline.
How many containers were returned in 2025?
In 2025, 1,434,857,656 containers were returned, accounting for 30,917 tonnes of material returned for recycling.
This was divided between 685,728,719 plastic bottles and 749,128,937 cans returned.
Has Re-turn made a profit in the past?
Re-turn is a not-for-profit organisation and is designed to operate on a break-even basis over time, a spokesman said.
It recorded a surplus after tax of €34.4 million in 2025. Re-turn used €13.8 million of this to contribute to the scheme’s legally required contingency reserve, which a
ring-fenced fund to ensure the sustainability of the scheme and manage any unforeseen circumstances.
Surplus revenue is not distributed to members, a spokesman said, rather it is retained to meet the scheme’s operating, working-capital and other financial obligations and to support future investment.
This includes investment in circular economy initiatives that strengthen Ireland’s recycling infrastructure, such as the development of Ireland’s first domestic food-grade recycled PET facility, the spokesman said.
What is Return for Children?
Return for Children is a fundraising initiative supporting Barretstown, Barnardos Ireland, Childline by ISPCC, the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation, LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice and Make-A-Wish Ireland.
More than €540,000 has been raised through the initiative, a spokesman said.
About €1.67 million has been raised for charities through the scheme overall, including more than €1 million donated through the optional donation feature available on the 1,700 reverse vending machines.
More than 5,400 schools, clubs, charities and community organisations are using the scheme to raise funds.
What percentage of containers are not returned?
In 2025, 23.6 per cent of containers were not returned through the DRS, according to Re-turn’s annual report for that year. However, a spokesman said these may have been recycled in other ways.
He said the overall recycling rate for containers now exceeded 90 per cent when accounting for the amount also recycled through mixed-dry recycling.
