Over 5 million drink containers have been collected since the launch of the Deposit Return Scheme at the beginning of February.
The group behind it, says it's gaining momentum after a slow start.
It says there were thousands of containers returned every day in February but that's now risen to hundreds of thousands.
The scheme sees 15c added to the price of plastic bottles and drinks cans, which can be claimed back at supermarkets through a voucher from reverse vending machines. A higher deposit of 25c is charged for plastic bottles over 3 litres.
Despite some controversy over the scheme, Re-turn says the figures show strong support for Ireland's recycling efforts.
It's reporting a 'bumper weekend' last week between the 9 - 10 March, with nearly 1 million drinks containers returned. It says February’s total of 2 million drinks containers returned, was surpassed in first seven days of March.
Re-turn says over 1.9 million transactions have been now recorded across 2,300 reverse vending machines across the country.
Ciaran Foley, CEO of Re-turn, says they're really happy with the levels of support.
“We are delighted with the number of plastic bottles and cans being returned by consumers nationwide and it really shows the support for this initiative.
"We’ve gone from collecting thousands of bottles a day to now bringing back hundreds of thousands. It’s a clear sign that our efforts to encourage recycling and support Ireland’s environmental goals are resonating.”
Check out our interactive map on https://t.co/xpNMNVPihe for your nearest bottle return point. 🗺️ Go to 'Where to Return Map' in our bio to find the closest spot to return your empties and join us in reducing waste! ♻️ #BringItBack #DepositReturnScheme pic.twitter.com/HiPG5eNrid
— Re-turn (@returnireland) March 11, 2024
