Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
73. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to provide a breakdown of retailers who have signed up for the deposit return scheme to date; how many retails have yet to sign up; what major retailers have signed up; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56603/23]
View answer100. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he is aware of concerns (details supplied) that particulars of the re-turn scheme will render it anti-competitive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57325/23]
View answer101. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications how the re-turn scheme will process imported drinks containers from EU Member States; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57326/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 73, 100 and 101 together.
A national Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is being introduced to encourage more people to recycle plastic bottles and aluminium cans and to ensure we meet our ambitious EU targets for the recycling of those containers under EU Single Use Plastics and Packaging legislation.
DRS is an extended producer responsibility scheme under which producers have been given responsibility for the separate collection and recycling of the containers (bottles and cans) that their products are sold in. Producers are defined as the operator who first places such beverages on the Irish market, which includes operators who directly import from outside the State.
The DRS Regulations were signed in November 2021 and include provisions to ensure the legislative framework for the DRS and the scheme design are non-discriminatory against any operator or product being placed on the Irish market:
• DRS is a national scheme which applies on a country-wide basis to:
• all beverages, sized between 150mls and 3 litres, sold in PET plastic bottles and aluminium/steel cans, and
• all operators who supply or sell such products on the Irish market.
• The requirements in respect of DRS products are the same, regardless of whether the product was produced in Ireland or imported into Ireland from another jurisdiction.
DRS are used successfully in over 40 countries around the world, including 15 in Europe. The inclusion of mandatory, national labelling requirements is a key design feature of these schemes, as demonstrated by the two most recently implemented schemes in the EU – Romania (introduced in November 2023) and Hungary (introduced in January 2024).
Clear labelling maximises understanding and minimises fraud – it makes it easier for consumers and retailers to identify products which are covered by DRS and it reduces the risk of deposit fraud (e.g. where a beverage is purchased in one jurisdiction without a deposit and returned in a neighbouring jurisdiction where a refund is obtained). The risk of this type of fraud is much higher where there are jurisdictions in close proximity which do not have a DRS, as is the case here with Northern Ireland.
Guidelines on the use of a national logo were published by Re-Turn, the DRS operator, in February 2023, followed by a Labelling Manual in April 2023. This provided all operators with easy access to Re-Turn’s design and printing specifications to enable them to update their packaging in advance of the introduction of DRS. An alternative option is available in the form of a sticker supplied by Re-turn to small-scale operators or operators (such as importers) who do not have control over their packaging, to supplement rather than replace existing packaging.
The DRS Regulations also place obligations on retailers to charge their customers a deposit for every in-scope drink sold, to take back the empty drink container and to refund the deposit when it is returned for recycling. Retailers include any operator who sells beverages to customers which covers a wide variety of operators. To date just over 3,300 retailers, representing almost 5,300 premises, have registered for the scheme. All major retailers have registered.
