Why Will Fizzy Drinks Will Cost More In Shops?

Why Will Fizzy Drinks Will Cost More In Shops?

From today, a system called the Deposit Return Scheme is live in Ireland.

It means fizzy drinks containers like bottles or cans will be more expensive.

Collection of empties of a deposit bottle, PET bottle Return of deposit disposable beverage packaging | usage worldwide

The system means they will by 15 cent extra for plastic bottles or aluminium and steel cans between 150mls and 500mls inclusive.

Anything above that - up to three litres - will be an extra 25 cent at the till.

That's all your standard drinks cans, and bottles - no tins of tomatoes, beans or even plastic bottles of milk, recycle them responsibly in the usual way.

What does this mean at the till?

A standard can of coke - 330 millilitres that you might get with your lunch in the shop - it'll be 15 cent more - so on average it would now cost around €1.65.

Empty drink cans are put into the slot of a machine which automatically returns the deposit on drink cans in Doelbau, Germany in January 2003. Picture by: PA PHOTOS / DPA

But if you're buying a multipack of four - it will be 60 cent more - because each can comes with a deposit.

The same will go for cans of alcohol - 15 cent extra on a 500ml can of Guinness let's say - and if its multiple cans it will be 15 cent per can.

Why is this happening?

Well, simply Ireland's recycling rates around these items - bottles and cans - is just not good enough.

Through EU regulations we need to be hitting a recycling rate of plastics of 50% in 2025.

And latest figures from the Environmental Protection Agency says in 2021 we were at 28%.

While, specifically for plastic bottles 90% of them need to be recycled by 2030, currently around 75% are recycled properly.

As well as that its hoped it will stop litter around the country.

The idea is that the bottle or can would be worth money to a litter bug and they wouldn't want to drop it on the ground.

How do I get my money back?

It will be through something called a Reverse Vending Machine (RVM).

A Deposit Return Scheme machine ready for use at a Supervalu supermarket in Dublin.

The chances are you've seen them at your local shop - some may be as small to look like a coffee machine, while there could be others which are outside in car parks and are about the size of a bus stop.

Re-Turn estimate that there will be more than 1,800 live machines from today so there won't be a shortage for you.

Now, obviously some large towns might have a few of these machines at different shops, while some villages and that mightn't have them because the shop is too small.

But basically wherever your do your big shop - there should be one there.

So you bring your bottle or can - or if you're collecting bottles and cans...you place them into a little hole in the machine where the scanner is.

It'll scan the barcode and through a conveyor belt, off goes your bottle or can to its new life - and hopefully someday you'll drink out of it again.

Once you put all the bottles or cans through the machine you get a little receipt in the form of a voucher or a cashback option.

You can use the voucher in that specific shop to get money off your shop, or get physical money to spend wherever you want.

How do I know my bottle or can is worth money?

The only cans and bottles which will be eligible have the Re-Turn logo.

The logo seen on bottles from February 1st as part of the Deposit Return Scheme. Credit: Re-Turn

You'll also know from the cost.

And there will be some shops who will be selling fizzy drinks which will have different costs as they wear down all stock.

By the end of May all shops will have to stock only containers with the Re-Turn logo.