It also doesn’t take into account the cost to families. If you’re already pinned to your collar how do you afford the initial outlay?
Say a family with 3 school going kids. Each brings a bottle of water, some fruit and a sambo to school, that’s almost an extra €4 onto the already struggling bill, without any other bottles that the house buys.
Use a refillable water bottle like everyone did in the past. That'll save a significant sum over time
If your 3 kids are bringing 15 plastic bottles of water to school with them weekly the parents should be made pay a stupidity tax.
You can get crates of mini bottles of water of about 250ml approx and they are good for small hands.
Test a refillable water is only part of a solution. Some children will not drink water and will only drink flavoured stuff or cordials. Taking 3 children into the equation like mentioned above, that would be at about 2 bottles a week approx of cordials. Is it 25c tax or deposit like people call it for a bottle? That's at least 50 cent a week for a family and 2 euro a month.
Can't believe the amount rubbish problems people are coming with about this whilst it's been implemented and working in other countries in Europe for over 30 years without problems.
Why would it not work here?
You can get lots of things, it doesn't make the parents less stupid.
People who give their kids a plastic bottle every day is the type of person we have to tax.
Unfortunately everyone else has to be taxed too because of clinical morons.
Return the two bottles you used the previous week and it cancels out. It's not that confusing, is it?
It's not that it won't work here so much as it is unnecessary here considering how much plastic collection already takes place. It is an answer for a problem that does not exist, lumping pointless hassle and cost on consumers.
Are these machines constructed outside supermarkets exempt from planning? I've noticed 2 near me and neither have any planning notice submitted for them.
They are not permanent structures, and not "constructed". Why would they need planning?
If they are not permanent structures are you suggesting this won't be a permanent scheme?
Yes they are exempt from planning is the answer here
Another thing that isn't considered. If your waste collector isn't getting the goods to recycle are they losing money and in turn will you have to pay more to your waste collector?
Nope, they are here to stay. Permanent in this context means a building, not a machine that is readily moved / replaced.
Issuing refunds as paper coupons is ridiculous in this day and age. (think of the paper waste!)
Should be able to scan an app or club card and get refunds directly in e-vouchers which can be saved, or applied to next online shop or scanned in store at the till.
I wonder which will be the first charity to jump on this - "donate your bottles to us so we can claim your deposits!"
I'd do it, if it saved me the bother and the money was going to a good cause.... even better if they collected.
It could be like a "bag packing" day for anyone fund raising. Great for schools or sports clubs!
Personally I don't think it should be vouchers at all.
Cash in Cash out.
Maybe an app you can link with your account.
The reality is most people won't be bringing back one or 2 items, it will be buckets and bags.
The numbers can get quite high, quite fast far more incentive if it's money back.
I also think they should have thought of a financial reward, e.g. 15c deposit 20c back at least for the first couple of years, the way it is will not be cost neutral for the consumer.
Ideally, both options should be available.
I'd prefer to scan an app, and get an e-voucher or credit off my next shop, rather than queuing up in a shop for cash.
I click and collect groceries, very rarely go into supermarkets unless I forget something, so I won't be queuing for few quid.
I would also like the option to donate, e.g. if I recycle my bottles at my local Tesco, the funds can go to the Tesco Community Fund, which is also local.
it works fine in other places and im reasonably sure itll work fine here too but in the cynical part of my head theres a wee voice going "you just know there will be an 'administration tax/charge/a just because we can charge/because we are worth it' added into this"
Yes it would have been great before waste collection was privatised. Other countries didn't have an existing network of trucks that collected weekly plastic bottles and cans from each home through recycling bins which are now going to be for the most part redundant before they brought their systems in. Extra bins could have been added purely for cans and another for bottles if segregation was an issue.
Back of an envelope calculation they will need 250 trucks costing €100k each (€25million), every large supermarket will need a machine costing circa €200k of which there are about 850 large supermarkets in the country (€170million), at the end of this there's no guarantee whatsoever that the system will lead to a better rate of recycling than the current one.
The problem with that is the vouchers are locked into Tesco.
That's to benefit them, not me.
The "deposit" is paid in cash, it should be returned in cash.
every body thinks im batshit crazy when i mention my wee voice but there you go its probably right...guess who will be paying for all those trucks?
Segment starts a about 6 minutes in.
I don't pay for my shopping in cash, but that's not really the point.
Most people do their big shopping in the same supermarkets regularly, I really dont see an issue with having more than one option.
If someone really really wants to queue up to get a couple of euro back in cash, that's their choice.
I'd prefer something more efficient, that takes up less of my time, and that doesn't cause additional paper waste, which kind of defeats the purpose.
By cash I mean your personal funds on deposit.
I have already stated it should be an app that can be linked bank to your account.
But if I do my shopping in X supermarket or shop that doesn't have one of these machines, the voucher is a major inconvenience.
If it is truly a deposit paid for in money, it shouldn't be transferred into vouchers when you want that deposit back. It's arbitrary and gives an another unfair advantage to the larger retailer.
As for people in a queue to get money back, that would be the thin end of the wedge, I'd be more concerned about a lad with 6 bags of cans having to manually hand back each one because that shop doesn't have a machine and that is the shop he actually shops in.
The reality is to make these things an actual success, they have to be simple, convenient and incentivised for everyone.
It doesn't even matter if they do their big shop in the same place. The market share stats suggest that most people spread their shopping around. I certainly do. So they can choose which shop to recycle at, picking the most convenient place and time for them.
I guess we will.
I just got a notification of a 9.5% increase in my monthly bin collection charges from January 2024.
Exactly. People citing it has being going on in other countries for 30 years ignores our evolution of waste collection.
I'm not so sure in this instance we need the carrot and stick approach, I think it's going to drive the annual cost of shopping up and inconvenience people to the point it won't make the tangible difference they hope.
I don't think I have ever gone to a bottle bank that hasn't been wedged, people will recycle they don't need the threat of 25 cent added to a jar of jam to do so.
The proof is there.
3 options are available
1 - CASH - but for security reasons its a voucher you then have to redeem at that store.
2 - Voucher for the store.
3 - Charity
Are the vouchers for the store also paper?
It’s an absolute waste of money to create jobs for who knows who.
I have a glass bin, an organic bin, a recycle bin and a waste bin. Have recycled forever at this stage.
they can **** off with this shite. Green Party nonsense
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