Offaly TD challenges Re-Turn on €120m unredeemed deposits

Fine Gael TD for Offaly, John Clendennen, has challenged Re-turn Ireland on the substantial figure associated with unredeemed deposits for drinks bottles and cans.

The exchange took place during a meeting of the joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Energy and the Environment.

Representatives from Re-turn, the company which operates the deposit return scheme, as well as those from the convenience stores and newsagents association (CSNA), were before the committee.

During a session dedicated to reviewing the deposit return scheme (DRS), Deputy Clendennen raised concerns regarding €120 million in unredeemed deposits accumulated over the past two years, and questioned why these funds are not being leveraged to support struggling local retailers.

Re-turn CEO Ciarán Foley confirmed the €120 million figure consisted of €66.7 million of unredeemed deposits for 2024, and €60 million for 2025, and is the equivalent of 600 million bottles/cans in the system.

Sara Orme, President of the CSNA, spoke in her opening statement about how the scheme does not allow the approximately 1,000 retailers that are represented by the association to adequately recover the costs associated with hosting and managing the scheme on their premises.

"If we have a problem with financial feasibility at the retail level, and considering the unredeemed deposits are as high as €120 million over two years, we must ask if we should be leveraging these funds to assist the very retailers who are making this scheme possible," Deputy Clendennen said.

While Re-turn maintains that unredeemed deposits are necessary to fund the scheme until it reaches a 90 per cent redemption rate, Deputy Clendennen pointed out the disparity between the scheme's financial health, including €1.1 million paid to five senior executives, and the financial reality faced by local shops.

Furthermore, the Offaly TD urged Re-turn to look beyond the immediate scheme and invest in broader circular economy infrastructure.

He highlighted the absence of public water fountains in towns and villages, suggesting that Re-turn should intervene to introduce these facilities to genuinely reduce dependency on single-use plastics.

"If we are serious about the circular economy, we need to support the retailers who are the backbone of this scheme in our communities, and we need to invest in infrastructure that prevents plastic waste in the first place," Deputy Clendennen concluded.