A GAA club in Co Monaghan has said it is "deeply disappointed" after the cans and bottles in one of its secure return bins were stolen.
The Éire Óg club in Smithborough recently introduced an initiative to raise money for its juvenile teams by asking their members to deposit their empty cans and bottles in their designated re-turn bins.
Under the re-turn scheme, every can or bottle with the correct logo or barcode that is donated to the club is worth between 15-25 cent.
However, Éire Óg Na Mullaí has said that a bag of cans and bottles was stolen from one of its bins last week and the matter is to be reported to the gardaí.
Club officials have said that they have since learned that other GAA clubs in the county running similar initiatives have also been targeted.
In a statement this afternoon, the club said it discovered that the theft had taken place after reviewing the footage from its CCTV cameras at its grounds.
A spokesperson for the club said: "We were deeply disappointed when we noticed the theft of our bottle return bins, which were part of our fundraising initiative for our juvenile teams.
"The bins which were placed through out our grounds are designed to collect recyclable bottles with all proceeds going directly to our juvenile fund.
"The theft occurred on 5 June at approximately 1pm. Video footage shows a single man opening the bins with a key and loading the contents into his car.
"The loss to the juveniles is estimated to be in the region of €200."
The spokesperson went on to say that it has since come to the club's attention that other GAA clubs in the county have also been targeted.
