Litter, Beer cans, Drinks bottles - Would you support a returnable charge?

alex73

I see in other EU countries there is a returnable charge on Beer and Drinks cans and bottles.

Here in Ireland I see the country littered with Beer cans, Drink Cans, bottles..

Would it not be better to impose a charge that would force us to return them?

Fago!

Out government are too stupid/incompetent/fat/useless to do anything worth doing!

RolandIRL

totally agree, more people would recycle them if they got 20c back for each can.

though the alcoholics would only then be fueling their addiction from all the money they'd make back

alwaysadub

I used to live near a recycling place when i was a kid and they used to give us money for collecting aluminium cans.

Don't know why they stopped it tbh.

byrnef

I think its a great idea, works in Canada, Scandinavia. Better for the environment and cost is minimal if any.

MitchKoobski

Well....no
1. I don't want to pay any extra than I already do for my drink.
2. When you have one or two drinks in you, you're just gonna pay the extra charge anyway and chuck the can or bottle away.
3. If you added that, next I'll be paying for the cardboard box my bottles come in from the Off Licence.

PeterIanStaker

If it was along the lines of the Plastic Bag levy it might work.

MitchKoobski

PeterIanStaker wrote: »

If it was along the lines of the Plastic Bag levy it might work.

Ah yeah but with the plastic bag levy we had the alternative of re-usable bags or paper bags.
I doubt you'll find people walking into bars with washed cans to refill.

PeterIanStaker

I wasnt suggesting we refill our cans over and over, maybe we could bring em back to the offy and they'd weigh 'em or something.

alex73

MitchKoobski wrote: »

Ah yeah but with the plastic bag levy we had the alternative of re-usable bags or paper bags.
I doubt you'll find people walking into bars with washed cans to refill.

Well in Germany it works!, Bring your bottle to a shop and they give you the refund. You will never find a Beer can as litter as people pick them up for the refund.

Its a pain, but the situation in Ireland at the moment is terrible and more than 50% of the litter is Beer/Drinks cans.

Mrmoe

Good idea I think. It will not get rid of all the rubbish that is strewn around the place but it could make an impact. It could even give people an incentive to go around a clean up an area. It depends on how much the charge might be, too small and you won't notice any change, too big and people will just find an alternative.

Aidric

I've seen it work well in Holland. Absolutely no reason why it shouldn't be introduced here.

ScumLord

Mrmoe wrote: »

Good idea I think. It will not get rid of all the rubbish that is strewn around the place but it could make an impact. It could even give people an incentive to go around a clean up an area. It depends on how much the charge might be, too small and you won't notice any change, too big and people will just find an alternative.

Excellent idea, it would give the homeless something to do for change and I wouldn't feel so bad when I throw my empty bottles at them, at least now I know they'll be able to buy a pack of bandages.

Mac daddy

I grew up in Holland we used to get one Gulden for a plastic 2 ltr bottle of coke/7up ect.
For a crate of empty beer bottles we used to get around 8 Gulden which is around €4 for it ( bare in mind a full crate would cost no more than 24 Gulden at max !!! )

Worked great in Holland you would never see a bottle or plastic bottles all over the like you do here, as you would get money for it.

Sofiztikated

It'd be a great idea, which is why it would never be introduced here.

If it was, we'd make a cunt of it, and there'd be a six month waiting list to get your 20c back, and you'd have to have an unnecessary licence to bring back said cans.

landsleaving

Works great in Copenhagen, you leave a bottle on the street (while oyu legally drink outside) and some random person will take it for the refund. Way less litter and provides a bit of cash for the homeless.

Run_to_da_hills

The states have had returnable deposits for years and there is no reason why it would work here. It was 15c in California,

Greyfox

This is a really dumb idea, I pay enough stupid charges already. Why impose an extra charge rather then just giving people 10c back for each can/bottle returned!

Odats

Get father twelve large bottles of guiness each week from the off licence and get a return charge from them it was always in place. But would be a good idea for people to recycle more.

alex73

Greyfox wrote: »

This is a really dumb idea, I pay enough stupid charges already. Why impose an extra charge rather then just giving people 10c back for each can/bottle returned!

Thats what I propose, Give people money for returning the Cans/Bottles (return the desposit)

Rented Mule

I'd like to see this done with the filters on cigarettes.

The country wouldn't be riddled with fag butts (outside of Dublin of course).

alex73

Rented Mule wrote: »

I'd like to see this done with the filters on cigarettes.

The country wouldn't be riddled with fag butts (outside of Dublin of course).

agree, but atleast cig buts degrade, Beer cans don't.

admiralofthefleet

when i was a kid you could get 10p return on a glass lemonade bottle

RolandIRL

alex73 wrote: »

agree, but at least cig buts degrade, Beer cans don't.

FYI cig butts are non-biodegradable.

alex73

whiteman19 wrote: »

FYI cig butts are non-biodegradable.

I stand corrected, your right, But the litter problem is mainly (to my eye) drinks cans, PET bottles, fast food cups. In the park near my house they are every where. Cig butts, not as obvious, but on streets they are bad.

christeb

It's a superb idea, I'm half-Danish and over there it works very smoothly. You have your plastic crate full of glass bottles, costs you ca. €4-5, and you bring 'em all back when you're finished.

In fact, the drink here would probably be cheaper as the companies are getting back their bottles cans. Come to think of it maybe not, but that's the theory anyway.

Far too forward thinking for this country.

alex73

I suppose the green enviroment minister will say", oh we need cross border approval (my arse) we didn't need it for the plastic bag levy and it works fine.

--LOS--

brilliant idea, works at festivals etc, bring your cup back, get cheaper beer, also bring your bag of rubbish to a collection area, get part refund on the price of your ticket, can't see why it wouldn't work on the streets too.

alex73

Example of reverse vending from Aldi in Germany.

TheZohanS

Mac daddy wrote: »

I grew up in Holland we used to get one Gulden for a plastic 2 ltr bottle of coke/7up ect.
For a crate of empty beer bottles we used to get around 8 Gulden which is around €4 for it ( bare in mind a full crate would cost no more than 24 Gulden at max !!! )

Worked great in Holland you would never see a bottle or plastic bottles all over the like you do here, as you would get money for it.

When I first went to Holland it was 50 guilden for a "happy time"....so much happiness from returning empties...

gamgsam

House party in my place... I'm gonna be soooo rich!