Dublin City Council proposes limiting access to Re-turn scheme in bid to reduce bin scavenging
Darragh Mc Donagh
Dublin City Council has suggested limiting access to the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to individuals with registered domestic waste collection contracts in a bid to reduce “opportunistic” bin scavenging.
The move would prevent anyone without a household bin collection service from reclaiming deposits on plastic bottles and aluminium cans, which it said had become a “monetary commodity” since the introduction of the scheme.
The proposal was contained in a briefing note for Dublin City Council chief executive Richard Shakespeare ahead of a meeting last February with Ciaran Foley, chief executive of Re-turn, the company licensed to operate the DRS.
The document noted that public bins were being interfered with and damaged “on a daily basis”, with scavengers removing rubbish and scattering it on footpaths in search of returnable bottles and cans.
The wider effects of this included damage to the city’s image and reputation, and a potential impact on tourism and visitor experience in the capital, according to the briefing note.
It questioned claims by Re-turn regarding the success of the scheme in increasing recycling and reducing litter, suggesting that there had only been a “modest decrease” in drinks-packaging litter between 2023 and 2024.
The local authority’s household waste data had also shown only a modest increase in the amount of material recycled, and there had been “no significant difference” in total street sweepings collected in the city.
“One possible policy approach to reducing [bin scavenging] would be to restrict access to deposit rebates to households with registered waste collection contracts,” the briefing note stated.
“While this may reduce opportunistic scavenging, it would also limit access to the scheme for some members of the public,” it acknowledged, adding that further consideration of the unintended consequences of the scheme was required at a national level.
The briefing documents, which were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, also included several photographs of bin surrounds installed around the city with a view to reducing bin scavenging.
The documents said these were frequently used for general litter disposal, including coffee cups and cigarette waste, and were “therefore not fulfilling their intended function”.
A spokeswoman for Re-turn said recycling levels and data relating to street sweepings cited by Dublin City Council were “not accurate measures” of the performance of the DRS.
“The relevant indicators are return rates, recycling rates for in-scope containers, and drinks container litter levels,” she said.
“These figures are corroborated by independent research from Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) and Coastwatch. Coastwatch recorded the lowest average levels of bottle and can litter on Irish shores in 25 years, while IBAL reported a 50% reduction in bottle and can litter since the scheme launched.”
Dublin City Council recently claimed that it had spent €857,000 on bin repairs and additional clean-ups as a result of scavenging, and expected to spend another €351,000 on additional cleaning this year.
