Deposit return scheme (recycling) - Part 2

Racks added to bins in city centre for bottles

https://www.thejournal.ie/bin-shelves-dublin-city-6517385-Oct2024/

Now, we can all shut up, because Shane Coleman has spoken.

Deposit Return Scheme naysayers 'proven spectacularly wrong' - Coleman | Newstalk

Of course the producers are not enthusiastic about getting rid of single use plastic. Way too much money involved. Instead they prolong the use of plastic via DRS. Makes them look 'green'. People promoting DRS should really do their own research.

The reality is stark. The earth has a problem with plastic, with over half a trillion bottles produced annually each year.

I'm sure the oil companies are pleased though. Getting their fossil fuels in the back door via incineration now that countries are cutting back on coal and oil.

In my youth I can't remember the use of these bottles being so prolific. I remember when bottled water was first introduced, and how people scoffed when you could get water free via the tap.

The retailers and consumers are fond of the convenience too.

As I said any change will take a long time to achieve.

In the meantime folk like you and me have to do the best we can.

I never buy bottled water, I use a sports bottle filled from the tap.

Have you given up on the idea of leaving litter on the ground ?

DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL is set to roll out a pilot project to bring domestic bin collection under public control. 

The move follows its recommendation in a report on the circular economy published by the Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action earlier this week.

Oh I agree wholeheartedly.

I was waiting on a train this evening(8PM), which eventually turned up 15 minutes late. While I was waiting, I was chatting to a random stranger, who was wondering if this was normal(the delay), he was saying he would now miss his connecting train to Dundalk.

A train from the opposite direction on the other platform pulled in and stopped. As the train pulled away, a group of young teenagers(6 or 7) were rolling a black dumpster(with a lock on the front, I don't know if it they broke it)up the platform and out the gate. I've never seen anything like it before.

Something like above. They were covering their faces, probably because of the security cameras along the platform. How on Earth did they get it on board, with no security or inspector obviously coming across them? What must the other passengers on board have been thinking?

I'm sorry I didn't record it, but I was thinking why would you steal a bin like this? "A bin like this". Why would you steal any bin? And bring it on a train? 🤪

I was saying to the man, maybe it has plastic bottles and cans in it. And there's a shop just a few hundred metres from the station where they could cash in.

He was then telling me that he works at various festivals at the weekends(in addition to his regular job) and he loves this new scheme(scam). He said he was at a festival in Donegal recently and he filled 3 tonne gravel/sand bags, the morning after and made well over €200.

CEO of the Re-Turn scheme Ciarán Foley told reporters today that he didn’t believe that the behaviour would be “inevitable” but did admit that his team had considered it a possibility, given similar actions were seen in other European cities.

Poor Ciarán is shocked at the behaviour.

I guess we wanted to go live and see how things panned out

That really should be their motto.

It'll only take a long time to achieve when we have people promoting the use of DRS. Prolonging the use of single use plastics and incineration.

Remember the success of getting rid of single use plastic bags? They used to be everywhere too, littering hedges etc. Then a levy was bought in. The bags disappeared almost overnight.

The workplace tobacco ban. Another overnight success that people thought would never work.

I'm doing the best I can by not using these plastic bottles in the first place. I believe you may be either misguided in your efforts, or working directly or indirectly for DRS or other associated party.

(I also do not know that you mean by 'giving up on the idea of leaving litter on the ground'. I don't want single use plastics anywhere in the environment. The ground would be better for carbon, rather than a DRS incinerator)

You seem to get very touchy when anyone suggests you work for / have a connection to Re-Turn.

A disabled relative of mine has been keeping their cans and bottles as they really cannot afford to be funding the salaries of the gimps running this scam. I did a 12km round trip to collect them to try and get them their money back.

Because as we all know return couldn't give a fook about people who cannot partake in their scam.

Brought to a machine this morning, put five items in and on the fifth the machine said "insert barcode up" i adjusted the can a little, machine swallowed it and instantly said "assistance required item removal detected", stopped working and gave no receipt.

Thats nearly a euro stolen by return, a wasted trip to collect them, another wasted trip to bring them to the machine and im now carrying a bag of somebody elses crap around with me all day.

Not to mention that in order to access this particular machine you have to queue at the till to get a key to the area its in because apparently kids ate flinging fireworks into them to try to blow them up.

This is my first go at this in a while as i recycle in my green bin, it truly is convenient for all.....

Oh i absolutely agree, its just another fun element to the whole thing.

1 - Yes it's a bit of a shock to the system. I try to put my healthiest (lol) cans at the top of my bag so anyone having a gawk at me on the way to a machine thinks better of me 😁.

2 - I believe the machines have a tolerance of +/- 10-15% of expected weight from an empty container and anything outside that is rejected.

Time to do that magical and mystical "Manual Return"

Checked the map there and they have finally put the two missing ones I knew of on it.

There's also now two off-shore island return points - dunno if RVM or manual as the map doesn't specify, Mr Prices and WH Smiths in the airport are listed which are manual - which must be an absolute pain in the hole for them to get the stuff back from.