What's this Shite ?? - Re-turn logo on bottles and cans !!!

[Wendysfriend]

Who the heck came up with this scheme ? An added charge to plastic and aluminium and the only way to get this back is by bringing your crap back to a shop, empty, un damaged and shove it in the machine for a refund .

So I've to pay extra to buy these items, not put them in my recycling bin and walk up to the shop with bags of cans and bottles to get my money back . Is this for real ?

If I do put them into my recycling bin, it means, I've paid either 15c or 25c extra per item at the checkout and now I'm going to pay my bin company too, to take them away .

Surely this can't be right ? It's like I'm back in the 70s bringing my bottles back to the shop, maybe I'll wheel the whole feckin wheelie bin up to the shop

How much extra will the drinks cost? I’d say I’ll just cut right down on bottled drinks, not that I buy many anyway.

I’d be raging if I lived in a place where the tap water is undrinkable though, and had to rely on bottled water.

This is interesting. I am in the north and yesterday saw two, maybe three couples loading up with trolleys bottled water in Tesco. I wonder what the breakeven point is for number of bottles versus deposit saved. I don't suppose NI bottles are returnable in ROI stores. That would be a loophole!

@99point6 no they shouldn't be returnable in ROI but in fairness who knows! It's all new, I've had a few bottles with out the logo and I asked re-turn they said the machines should take them using the bar code. I suppose it depends if Tesco water in NI has a diff bar code to in ROI.

I think it's 15c for the 500ml bottle and 25c for the larger bottles.
It sickens me with all the extra charges we have to help mitigate climate change, yet industrialised countries like China, India and the US carry on regardless.
If only it were a level playing field .........

I don't really get it.
Why is this method better than simply putting the bottles in the recycling bin at home?

@Jurassicmam because not enough people were putting them into the recycling bin at home. I read comments from people online saying they put everything in one bin

Also depending on where you live it might make your bins cheaper. Where I am you can either pay a set monthly amount of just pay when the bin goes out

Okay thanks.
It won't be cheaper for me as the bins are a set amount.
I always used to recycle the bottles at home and this seems like it's 'punishing' people who did that in a way. I'm now supposed to go to extra effort just because others couldn't do it right in the first place? Very annoying.

I've been discouraged from buying my usual brands because of the hassle tbh (I don't drive). Maybe I'll find replacements elsewhere if not all supermarkets have joined up to the scheme.

I am actually saving because of this as I bought a filter jug (its a 8 or 9 litre one) and just filling bottles every day whereas we were buying bottled water as it was more convenient but my bin charges are around 350 or so a year so I am fucked if I am paying that AND this charge as I know my teens are too lazy as am I in fairness to go back to the shop with the bottles. Absolute swizz.

@Jurassicmam the shops don't have a choice, there is a 'teething' period until June but all shops will have to charge it.

I just did my tesco online shop, I don't buy many bottled drinks but I get a 6 pack of sparkling water every 2nd week it's €1.50 for the deposit!

Buy a soda stream it works out cheaper!

@Psychoticbreak I have been toying with the idea for a few years actually. On other groups I am in I've seen a few people have bought them since the deposit scheme came in. I might ask DH for one for Christmas or get one myself!

Just looking there, the gas is pricey enough. €30 and makes 60l that's 50c per ltr.

Our local Asda ripped up half the disabled car park to install a massive shelter... it's never opened

I was in Aldi yestereday and a poor shop worker was being harangued by a frustrated customer because the return machine wasn't accepting his bottles.

I felt really bad for the poor woman.

I am meticulous about recycling bottles and cans. But I guess this is good for people who are not.

I can see it as the next school fundraiser...have all the 5th and 6th class kids collecting bottles to raise money.

@Chickenkeev I got a response from my TD this is what Re-Turn said to him:

""Thank you for getting in touch with Re-turn with your question regarding support for your constituent who is wheelchair bound and receives on line shopping at home from their local shop. I apologise for not getting to this last week.

As a new deposit return scheme, we are committed to ensuring that all locations are accessible to consumers and are working with the national retail community to ensure best practice across the operationalisation of this programme, ensuring that nationally the system is optimised in terms of convenience and accessibility for all. We are committed to continually reviewing accessibility practices considering the needs of all users. This approach includes the early convening of a consultation group to ensure that the concerns of all parties, in particular those with accessibility challenges, are heard and addressed.
Individuals with accessibility issues who may face difficulties returning bottles and cans to their local retailer should contact Re-Turn directly and we will work within their local community to try to find a solution for them. ""

The TD said if you contact re-turn they can look into individual cases

@SouthDubMum that is really bad form. It wasn't the shop assistants fault, the poor fella. I tried to bring some to Lidl the other day. It rejected more than it took. None of them inc the ones it took had the logo on it, but I know I def paid the deposit on the others.

Return said it's a transition phase or something. That if I have been charged a deposit and cannot get it back from the machine I can return it to the shop I bought it from and they will refund the deposit. I didn't do that. It was a few cans DH would have bought in the garage, he wouldn't have the receipt.

I can def see it being a school fund raising thing

Thanks for this!

Three times this week on way home from work I have seen bags of cans and bottle dumped at the side of the return machines. They weren't accepted so were left there.

I just knew this was another tax. Its so ridiculous. Pay more but then cant return them. My Dh goes up north a lot with work so we are buying zero cans/ plastic bottles down here if we can help it. Id say shops in newry are thriving with multipacks. Plus was in aldi yesterday there is this covered area/ roofed area in front of the return machines omg sure that will be full.of beggars hassling you for the money back receipt or packs of teens just idling . Yet again another mess from the govt .

I had a few bottles to return.
I diligently brought them to my local supermarket.
The 2 machines were out of order !!! 🙄
Another fe*kin tax by the Greens.
Meanwhile the big industrial nations........

I am trying to be a 'good citizen' and bring mine back. The receipts are a pita. All this faff and expense to install and maintenance this infrastructure and it actually ends up being a paper generation exercise!!!!

I have managed to re-turn most of the bottles I have bought with the deposit on, some with / some without the logo - mostly without actually so far.

I am hoping it is a 'teething' phase and that it'll all settle down soon. I'd also love if they created an app to spend the vouchers with or store them on but I guess it wouldn't work cause you need to use the voucher/ get the money in the shop that you return the bottles to.

I've yet to speak with anyone who has found this successfull.

I'm still seeing lots of bottles and cans just discarded.

I am however finding the conversations in shops where there seems to be issues with the machines 😲😳😂🥴, bottles and cans been rejected, a woman being told to blow into her plastic bottles to get the tiny dents out 🤣 a man bringing his beer cans back and not sure what happened but there must have been some dribbles in the ends and it was running down the front of the machine, he was flinging them in. An elderly woman with those little shopping trolley things filled and god love her, she had dragged the bottles and cans back, but struggled with the usage of the bin, thankfully a member of staff got off her checkout and dispensed of them all for her.

I was in 2 different shops and their machines had a notice that they were out of order for 2 weeks. There was a lot of cans and bottles left beside these machines same with outdoor machines.

I've also noticed that supermarket staff are getting a hard time, especially if the bottles are rejected.

My sister who I mentioned in other posts has had nothing but issues, she can't drink her tap water, she has to buy bottles, it was expensive with the deposit added, someone here suggested the 5lt, she hasn't been able to get 5lt since this started, they're all sold out, I did bring some 5lt from Dublin to her and poured them into smaller bottles that she kept, but I can't get over regularly to do this. She tried bringing back bottles herself 🙄 I told her not to and to store them and I'd drive up and do it for her but anyway after arranging a wheelchair taxi and filling half the car with black bags of bottles she couldn't reach the hole in the machine 😔 the staff said they couldn't spare someone to do it for her, in the end the security man did it for her. Lots of her bottles were rejected, you really can't store these together in black bags as the dent easily. My poor sister said she's never felt so helpless, all she wanted to do was go home and forget these machines exist.

I had contacted the people over this regarding disabled people and have been told that it's something they will look into in the near future and basically in the mean time to get someone to bring them back for her, yeah ... That's great for those who have all these people available to traipse to shops with working machines.