Re-turn machines rejecting one in five recyclable containers as punters fume over 'stupid tax'
EXCLUSIVE: The issue is leaving consumers out of pocket, allowing the company to retain deposits, and resulting in bottles and cans being dumped in the bin
Reverse vending machines are rejecting one in every five recyclable containers brought back to stores under the Government’s Re-turn scheme, the Irish Mirror can reveal.
The machines were spitting out more than half of the bottles and cans inserted by consumers at the beginning of the scheme, and acceptance rates dipped as low as 35 percent during the second week of February.
However, official stats provided by the operator of the scheme to Minister of State Ossian Smyth show that 80 percent of containers were being accepted by the machines at the end of March.
READ MORE: Only fraction of containers bought under Deposit Return Scheme brought back to machines
This means that one in five recyclable containers were being rejected, leaving consumers out of pocket, allowing the company to retain the deposit, and resulting in bottles and cans being dumped in a bin.
In an email to Minister Smyth seen by the Irish Mirror, Re-turn CEO Ciaran Foley said vending machine suppliers were blaming consumers getting their “fingers in the way” for “the vast majority” of rejections.
Some also noted that “newcomers to the scheme” still had to go through “the same learning process as early adopters”, and suggested that this was also contributing to the number of rejected containers.
The failure of machines to accept bottles and cans for which consumers paid a deposit under the scheme has been a common theme of complaints received by Minister Smyth regarding Re-turn.
On April 2, one individual wrote: “I brought two bags to the supermarket today. Of 20+ bottles, four were accepted. We were charged extra for those bottles.”
They disputed the accuracy of reports that people were not returning containers under the scheme. “They are,” the complainant added. “They have tried but the machines don’t accept [them] and the shops take no responsibility.”
Another person wrote to the minister on March 15, remarking: “What a stupid tax you’ve put on cans. If they’re even remotely dinged, the machine won’t take them… I was on my way to the hairdressers so [I] threw them in the bin.”
A consumer reported on March 6 that they had brought 30 cans “in perfect condition” to a reverse vending machine, and only three of them had been accepted.
“[I] put the rest in a bin on the street. Some recycling. This is a total scam. Who is keeping my money?... Someone is making a fortune out of this,” they added. On March 22, Ossian Smyth’s own assistant had to contact his department, asking on his behalf who was responsible for fixing reverse vending machines after receiving a complaint.
They noted that they had received “conflicting responses” from Re-turn and the retailer about who was responsible for a machine that had been “malfunctioning” for more than two weeks. In his correspondence with the minister, Mr Foley said rejection rates were “going in the right direction” although the improving trend was “slower than a few weeks ago”.
He noted that work was underway with major suppliers of reverse vending machines “to better understand” the rejections that had been categorised as “other”, which occurs with around 10 percent of all returns.
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