Lidl Ireland is celebrating the early success of a year-long installation of customer-facing deposit return machines devised to meet European laws on deposit return schemes for food and beverage packaging which came into effect from February 1st this year.
Posting to social media last week, Alan Barry, chief development officer at Lidl Ireland and Lidl Northern Ireland noted that in under 12 months, the business had installed 358 Re-turn machines across 179 stores and invested ‘tens of millions’ into a functioning scheme.
“Our solution puts the customer first with two Re-turn machines in every store, ensuring no customer has to queue to return cans or bottles,” Alan posted.
He went on to note that each year around 1.9 billion cans and plastic bottles are consumed and that – under the Single Use Plastics Directive – Ireland must be recycling 90% of its plastic output by 2029.
“With the launch of Re-turn, we are happy to play our part in creating ‘a better tomorrow’, wrote Alan. “All this would not have been possible without a phenomenal effort from a hugely dedicated team.”
The Irish government’s nationwide Deposit Return Scheme sprang into life across all 179 Lidl Ireland stores from February 1st this year. Since becoming the first retailer to launch a DRS trial in September 2021, Lidl’s reverse vending machines have collected more than two million bottles and cans.
Lidl currently boasts two reverse vending machines per store across its fleet of shops in the Republic of Ireland, enabling customers to quickly and easily return both plastic PET bottles and aluminium drinks containers.
From February 1st this year, Irish legislation enforced a 15 cent deposit to be paid on bottles and cans from 150ml to 500ml and 25 cents for over 500ml to 3 litres at tills in all retail stores. This deposit is fully refundable when customers return empty and uncrushed containers to their Re-turn machines.
In an explainer video for shoppers, Lidl Ireland likens the deposit to ‘buying the drink and borrowing the container, so you don’t forget to bring them back.’ A summary of the total deposits paid is presented on the final shopping receipt.
Glass, Tetra Pak, and containers for dairy products, like cartons are not accepted within the current DRS.
Here in England the proverbial can has been kicked down the road over a succession of years with a deposit return scheme slated to be introduced in 2025.
