Re-turn denies spreading misinformation by claiming scheme 'doesn't cost public any money at all'
The company behind the Deposit Return Scheme has admitted that it received €500,000 of taxpayers' cash from the government last year
Re-turn has denied spreading misinformation on social media by claiming that the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) doesn’t cost the public any money – despite admitting that it received €500,000 from the government last year.
The company’s account on X (formerly Twitter) has been engaging with people who question the use of taxpayers’ money to fund the DRS, telling them that the scheme "does not cost the public or government any money at all".
However, the company’s latest financial accounts show that it received a government grant of €500,000 during 2023.
When this was pointed out to Re-turn by the Irish Mirror, a spokesman denied that the statements made on social media had constituted misinformation.
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"The administration and management of the DRS is funded by producer fees for products placed on the market, the sale of material collected through the scheme, and unredeemed deposits," he explained.
"Re-turn, which serves as the administrator of the scheme, is a not-for-profit organisation.
"A once-off grant of €500,000 was provided by the government in 2023 to fund a public information campaign prior to the launch of the scheme," he added.
"The statements from Re-turn’s account on social media as you have outlined them is not misinformation. The operation of the DRS is not government-funded.
"To classify a €500,000 grant from last year towards a public information campaign prior to the launch of the scheme as funding the operation of the scheme would be inaccurate."
The issue prompted outgoing Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore to call for greater transparency from the company, warning that a lack of clarity threatened to undermine the scheme.
"It’s important that Re-turn are transparent in their funding, including the amount of money they are accruing from the non-return of cans by individuals," she said.
"The absence of that level of transparency will, I believe, only serve to undermine this important environmental measure."
In response to several posts by individuals on X relating to the use of taxpayers’ money for the DRS, the Re-turn account stated: "The management and operation of the DRS does not cost the public or government any money at all."
It added: "The system is funded through producer fees for each product placed on the market."
The company received €500,000 of public money from the government last year, and it is not solely funded by producer fees, as it also receives revenue from the sale of plastic and aluminium, as well as retaining deposits on unreturned containers.
It was reported last month that fewer than half of the bottles and cans placed on the market up to the end of August had been returned, meaning that deposits have yet to be claimed in respect of around 556 million containers.
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