I just noticed that in my Dunnes app... the wallet has a title for "Reward and Re-turn Vouchers".
I wonder if that's a sign they are planning to link up their machines so your refund can go into your Reward account hmm.
There's a link here to Hospitality Guidelines for the scheme.
The hospitality sector is split between on-site consumption and off-site consumption. Businesses that predominantly cater for onsite consumption are not obligated to charge a deposit for in scope products. The rationale for this is that the empty containers remain on premises and are consumed on-site. It is up to each establishment to determine whether or not to charge the deposit. If a deposit is charged, the consumer can take their container off site. If the deposit is not charged, then the business is responsible for collecting the containers and taking them to a Return Point Operator to reclaim their deposit.
https://re-turn.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Hospitality-Summary-Info-Guide-1.pdf
There's different exemptions.
Exemptions from having to take back the container for retailers under 250 square metres - but still have to charge the deposit.
Exemption if the beverages sold are mainly consumed on the premises - don't have to charge the deposit to consumers but are meant to the collect the bottles themselves.
I thought if the place is exempt from the scheme you don’t pay a deposit? Is that not the whole idea?
Most ridiculous thing I've seen with this scheme so far is the WH Smith after security in terminal 1 in Dublin Airport charging the deposit. How many of those plastic bottles and cans are bought by visitors, so leave the country and are never returned... probably the majority. Surely the deposit shouldn't have to be paid if buying something in shops in the airport, where it is quite clear that it impossible to retrieve the deposit if leaving the country.
I returned a few bottles to Dunnes yesterday, no problems until I gave the voucher at the till. The ink seemed to be running out and so the barcode reader wouldn’t scan it. Lady behind the till said she had told her manager about it a few times already but no one had come to fix it.
I wasn’t in a hurry but I could see how people could get annoyed at the delay. She had to manually input a 25 digit code but was struggling to see it so it took 4 goes. I nearly told her it was ok and to forget about it but decided to wait. Not sure the people behind me in the queue were very happy.
It’s not a big deal but it frustrates me that they are trying to replace something that was so simple (putting plastic bottles in my recycling bin) with something that takes more effort and added stress for the shop workers.
And whose fault is that? It really is not a huge ask to return bottles in 99.99999% of all cases. There is no need whats-so-bloody-ever for Re-turn to keep any money from any deposits.
I keep the empties in a bag that I grab on the way to the weekly shopping. As I walk in I spend 2 minutes throwing them into the machine. At the end I put the coupons on the belt with my shopping and they are deducted from the total.
This is as easy as falling off a log, but I am sure a lot of people work *really, really* hard at making this difficult and complicated for themselves and others so they can claim this is unworkable and a failure.
Living near the A-Hole of nowhere does have it's drawbacks. Been there. done that. Though I say that the shop should return your deposit even without a machine and I would once again refer this to a consumer rights body. After all, my local shop here in Germany is perfectly capable of doing so without one.
I dare say that I'm not surprised that a lot of gougers and crooks who run small shops would see this as an opportunity to fleece people.
Even if it's a few cent, a fuss should be kicked up, because it's not just you but others who are also affected.
@magic_murph any update on those binman subsidies?
That is utter nonsense. I would get very pissy with them.
They will either have to give you the money back or not charge a deposit. I would tell them that I would refer this to consumer watchdog, because that is a farce.
Can we get re-turn to fund public drinking fountains and bottle fillers in all towns and villages if they are cashing so much money in
You seem to be missing the point.
If the canteen as you said is charging you a deposit on a non refundable item they are wrong and you should take it up with them.
Also you have the option of lodging a complaint with Re-turn.
In the meantime you shouldn't buy any more juice from the canteen.
That's good consumer advice not gaslighting as you earlier accused me of doing to you.
Calm down and take action.
Ireland has a history of not for profit organisations that are swimming in cash. Onsite gyms and daily yoga sessions. A small salary for the CEO who also gets benefits one could easily live on. Car allowance, expense account.
Hieroglyphic labels and embossed plastic, for goodness sake! We want our hand held over everything.
You've been on this thread so you knew about this scheme before yesterday but you didn't realise the drinks container you were buying might have a deposit on it? The logo is there, all you have to do is look at the label. They lady serving pointed it out to you but still isn't enough, you want hieroglyphic labels or embossed plastic. But when the cost of the new labels or the cost of changing bottle manufacturing so they're embossed just for the Irish market is passed on to the consumer and added to the sneaky price hikes that are already being added you'd be first to complain, because some people just have to complain about silly stuff.
They are legally not for profit, correct. This does not meant they are a charity, or that they are 'Not for benefit'. Any additional cash they have has to be dealt with by adjusting their future income. They can do this by a number of means (examples, not exhaustive):
Unlikely the shopper will benefit, it must be said.
BUT BUT BUT they are Not For Profit!!!!!!!!!!!
I haven't used this yet. But upon purchasing groceries in Dunnes yesterday, the lady on the checkout pointed out to me that my 1ltr fresh oj bottle was returnable. It never occurred to me tbh as I didn't notice the R sign and it turns out I have one already sitting in the fridge at home that has it too.
The label is unnoticeable. Why is it not holographic or at least instantly recognisable? A black little R under the barcode is all it is.. And I doubt many labels will last in and out of the fridge for long. The label on the current bottle is wrinkled, damp and I'd say will be torn by the time it's empty. Surely the plastic should be embossed rather than depending on a label?
Assume 20c an item (between 15c and 25c).
4m items in scope sold per day (charged 20c), curently 300k a day are returned.
So thats 4m x 20c IN and 300k x 20c OUT, or 3.7m items a day at 20c kept. €740k per day at current March 2024 run rates.
Obviously, the situation is fluid - the number of items on which deposits are paid will keep going up (towards 5m by June 1), and the ratio will also keep going up you would imagine. But certainly it looks like Re-turn will be cash rich at the end of the transition period.
Your company only has an exemption from taking back the empties, like a small shop that doesn't have the room for a RVM. They don't have an exemption from charging the deposit, like pubs and restaurants do. They will still have to pay the deposit back to Re-turn (unless they are charging for non-returnable cans and bottles, which is wrong).
My work canteen is the same, where we're supposed to bring the empties home/to an RVM to get our deposit back. I haven't bought any yet though.
Don't worry lads, I'm sure any money not returned will be given to climate change organisations. After all, that's what this is all about, isn't it?
Re-turn will hide behind the lag, thats for sure, but that road will also run out soon.
My thoughts are that 200m in-scope items have sold since Feb 1. 5m, we know from re-turn, have been returned.
I personally think the majority of the 195m items unaccounted were put in green bins / waste bins as before. Remember, to succeed, Re-turn needs to wholly replace kerbside recycling, there is no other way to get to their raison d'etre - 90% target.
I suggest the early signs is that people are not doing what we expected them to do. If people were compliant, I think we would be seeing maybe 25% return ratio - certainly not 7.5%.
Just think if even 1% or even 0.5% of supposedly of 5 million cans/bottles purchased daily are not returned for credit! Am to pissed of at this joke of a scheme to do the maths.
I wonder how much money has been lifted out of the publics pocket at this early stage on being charged deposits that cannot be gotten back.
Their teething issues should not be costing us money. Absolute scam.
I checked this last week, there are some not in scope, but I would not say a lot. Here is my post. 78% of 174 items I checked had deposit payable. I checked a leading supermarket, where most people will do their shopping, so I believe it is a good measure.
If you have any data to show that in scope items sold with deposit is lower than 78% I would love to see it, albeit I am not sure anything is published.
If you read this thread you will see I have been very vocal in my opposition to this scheme. How the hell am I blaming you??
Your canteen as well as making a profit already are now adding 15 cent to your purchase just because they can. Remove their new found profit and the profit they were making on your orange by bringing your own. That was my suggestion.
If the canteen is charging you a deposit on non returnable items they are robbing you not Re-turn.
Just stop buying them and as Red suggested lodge a complaint.
I assume you've checked the barcode checker on the re-turn website.
If so then yeah what's happening to you is completely wrong... Contact re-turn by email with the details of the work canteen and they should put a stop to it. Get your work colleagues to do similarly to speed it up
They probably won't take them if the re-turn logo isn't on the product
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