Man brings bottles on 10,000-mile journey due to lack of Re-turn machine at Dublin Airport
Exclusive: The disgruntled passenger told Minister Ossian Smyth that he had to carry two empty bottles with him to Asia to reclaim 50 cent on his return
A man brought two plastic bottles on a 10,000-mile round trip to Asia in order to reclaim 50 cent under the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) because there are no reverse vending machines in Dublin Airport, the Irish Mirror can reveal.
The disgruntled passenger wrote to the minister responsible for the scheme on July 2, informing him of the transnational odyssey that began when he bought two bottles of water from Boots in Terminal 1.
He told Ossian Smyth that he had taken the two empty bottles with him to Asia, and brought them back in his baggage so he could recycle them upon his return to Ireland.
There are no reverse vending machines located at Dublin Airport. WHSmith and Boots operate manual return points, but these require passengers to return to the shopping area and queue up again.
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“Retailers are selling bottles subject to a deposit. However, there are no deposit return machines in convenient locations,” the man wrote. “Recovering the deposit involves walking back from the departure gates to the store and waiting in line. Invariably, bottles get tossed in the bins provided.”
He inquired whether the Government could exempt airports from the DRS, and where the unclaimed deposits from Dublin Airport were going. “Should we view this as an effective tax?” he asked.
Mr Smyth’s private secretary responded to the email on the minister’s behalf, advising him that reverse vending machines were “due to be installed in the near future” at Dublin Airport.
However, Dublin Airport Authority told the Irish Mirror this week that the need for such machines at the facility continues to be assessed and remains under consideration. Mr Smyth did not respond to a request for comment.
The man who brought his empty bottles to Asia was unimpressed with the reply from the minister’s office, and replied: “I didn’t request a blurb on the history of why this nonsensical scheme has been introduced, so 95% of this information has not been of assistance.
“But like every Green Party member, once you start talking, you won’t stop,” he added.
A significant number of similar complaints have been received in relation to the absence of reverse vending machines at airports, according to records released to the Irish Mirror under the Freedom of Information Act.
Earlier this year, one correspondent calculated that if 50 percent of 100,000 daily outward passengers buy a drink at the airport, over €2.7 million in uncollected deposits would end up in Re-turn’s coffers each year.
“The current situation where passengers are charged a return fee when leaving the country is both unfair and annoying,” they wrote.
A spokesman for Re-turn said the company is currently engaging with Dublin Airport to discuss how it can support the introduction of reverse vending machines at the facility.
“There are currently three deposit return points in Dublin Airport where consumers can return their drink containers and get their deposits back. All three are manual return points as opposed to reverse vending machines, and all three return points are airside, after the security checkpoints.
“There are two return points in Terminal 1, located in WHSmith and Boots. There is one return point in Terminal 2, located in WHSmith.”
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