Irish consumers have returned over 347 million drinks containers since the launch of the Deposit Return Scheme in February, according to Re-turn, the operator of the scheme.
Re-turn said that public support for the scheme has been growing over the past six months with significant rises in the number of bottles and cans being returned each month.
In February, 2 million containers were returned which has now risen to an average of 3.2 million returns a day in July, totalling over 102 million returns for the month.
In line with the growing adoption of the scheme, the Re-turn network of Deposit Return Points has grown by more than 870 and there are now over 2,500 Reverse Vending Machines and 323 manual return points around the country.
Ciaran Foley, CEO of Re-turn, said the immediate impact of the scheme, as shown in the recent Irish Business Against Litter survey, has been more than we could have anticipated.
"The nationwide research found that almost 30% fewer cans and 20% fewer plastic bottles are littering streets. It is fantastic to see these results in just the first six months of the scheme, and we are expecting these figures to rise," Mr Foley said.
He also noted that over 140 community and non-profit organisations across the country are now working with Re-turn to carry out fundraising efforts which we are supporting by providing facilities and advice for each project.
"While I believe we have come a long way, we are continuing to explore new ways to grow the adoption of the scheme in the interest of the environment and communities across Ireland," he added.
