The reverse vending machines will accept both plastic PET drinks bottles and aluminium cans. For every unit deposited a customer will receive a €0.10 voucher in return with a maximum voucher limit of €2.
Currently only Lidl in Glenageary will accept empty cans and bottles
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2021/0903/1244522-lidls-deposit-return-scheme/
Punish the compliant in the hope the feckless will change their behaviour.
Typical.
there will be bottles and cans that don't have the logo on them right, imports etc? Can these still go in the green bin, and if so does that mean you can just put any can or plastic bottle in the green bin (assuming you don't care much about the deposit)?
Only "grey imports" such as from NI or duty free outlets will be logo free.
They will go in the green bin.
If you want to throw money away you can put the deposit paid containers in the green bin also.
my main query was will it still be permitted to put them in the green bin; I may well be willing to forego a few euro to avoid the hassle of having to store loads of bottles and cans (which from what I'm reading you can't squash before returning) and then having to schlep them up to Tesco to a machine that may or may not be working.
Yes you can. There is nothing illegal in this.
Its a cunning plan by the greens to ensure some of the destitute/poor are not idle, I have seen the schemes close up in other countries and always felt uncomfortable watching the homeless or elderly scratching around in bins for cans/bottles to supplement their incomes.I suppose your average green zealot would have no problem with it,saves them being accosted on the street by panhandlers.
the rubbish will get tossed out of the bins with people on the streets or on crack looking for the returnables i reckon
I remember looking at a machine in a local shop that mentioned steel cans I think.
Does this mean there's plans for empty dog food cans, beans, peas or corn tins etc?
They will only get store credit and afaik the amount of each credit will be limited each time.
It's not profitable to recycle tin cans (really steel). It's cheaper to chuck them in landfill and just mine more iron ore.
Schemes like this are nothing to do with the environment. It's a cheaper way for can producers to get aluminium back, it cuts out the bin companies who were acting as middle-men.
They will get a voucher which can be used against shopping in that store or exchanged at the till for cash and AFAIK there will be no limit on the amount of bottles/cans that can be returned in one go.
In the early trials I read there was a €2 limit.
That was a Lidl thing in a few of their stores, nothing to do with the national scheme that's been rolled out next February.
That was a pilot trying out the system.
It was literally free money because you didn't pay a deposit.
It cost Lidl money.
Exactly. It was Lidl doing their own thing. Nothing to do with the national Re-Turn scheme which doesn't get under way until February 1st next.
Why they did it is anyone's guess. At a company level, they've plenty experience operating these reverse vending machines in the many other countries they do business in that already have deposit return schemes.
There are, very very very very rarely, steel drinks cans - these are in scope. Other food ones are not.
Far more common ~30 years ago; I remember C&C cans (Club/Pepsi) in vending machines were steel when I was a kid but I've not seen it since.
I'd be happy enough to throw the money away, tbh. I've a green bin outside my front door. Lidl is a drive away. I'd have maybe 15-20 items every week that Lidl would take, paying me €1.50 - €2.00. To reclaim that €1.50 - €2.00, I've to clean the cans and keep them safe from damage until I assemble them for the trip to the machine? And drive to Lidl? And find a parking spot? And scan them into the machine? For €1.50 - €2.00?
In fairness, if you told me I could either take the trip to Lidl, or drop an extra €1.50 - €2.00 into the green bin along with my cans and get about my day, I'd fcuk the money in the bin. I'm sure there's a euro amount that would make it worth my while, but in all seriousness, it'd be many many multiples of €1.50 - €2.00.
Ridiculous scheme as usual. A recycling initiative which involves creating millions of unnecessary journeys (by car more than likely) with people driving their recycling to one of these machines. Instead of one bin lorry servicing hundreds of houses, each house is being encouraged to pass by their blue/green bin and everyone drive off down the road to deposit their cans and bottles somewhere else. The paralysis of this country continues..
Are you not going to Lidl anyway? You don't need to do this special extra journey.
No
I wonder what happens when Guinness cans are mixed with the rest (even currently).
Won't the plastic widget contaminate the whole batch?
Is this just for drink cans ? Does not work on food cans i think....also its a pain to scan plastic water bottles in those machines !
This. I wouldn't even generate 15-20 cans a week but unless the deposit amount is significantly increased - which might well be a long-term plan - I wouldn't be arsed.
I think this scheme will be more trouble than it's worth too, but do you not have a reason to go to the shops occasionally?
We have already established that this scheme is more inconvenient than just putting cans and bottles in the green bin.
You may continue to put your cans and bottles in the green bin.
However it will leave you at the loss of €75-€100 each year.
Most people will grumble about the inconvenience and as you suggest fit in returning deposit paid containers with a trip to the shops.
Not many will opt for the Hobson's Choice of throwing money away.
That's a good question, I haven't heard it discussed before.
you can already put Guinness cans in the green bin where they get recycled. Cans often have label on them as well, there's a process for separating the materials. very little that goes in the green bin is a single material. I'm not an expert in materials recovery but I'm going to assume it's...
Magnets, magnetic flux and compressed air jets are used to sort lines.
Cans eventually get shredded to get rid of widgets
I knew it!
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