{"id":279452,"date":"2026-02-04T01:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T01:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/279452\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T01:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T01:14:08","slug":"deposit-return-scheme-cllr-calls-for-re-think-due-to-bin-scavengers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/279452\/","title":{"rendered":"Deposit Return Scheme: Cllr calls for re-think due to &#8216;bin scavengers&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Dublin Councillor has said the Deposit Return Scheme is something the Government \u2018really has to look at\u2019 because so many people scavenge through bins for the cans.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Deposit Return Scheme was launched two years ago in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newstalk.com\/news\/ireland-on-course-to-miss-eu-recycling-targets-epa-1618664\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a bid to improve Ireland\u2019s notably low rate of recycling<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In the first year alone, 980 million containers were recycled, with an estimated 84% of the public participating in the scheme.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, Dublin City Council CEO Richard Shakespeare has recently hit out at \u2018bin scavengers\u2019, who go around the city, rooting through bins for containers to recycle.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newstalk.com\/shows\/newstalk-breakfast-234855\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Newstalk Breakfast<\/a>, independent Councillor Nial Ring described the phenomenon as \u201cactually ridiculous\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have guys going out every day cleaning the place,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd what&#8217;s happening now is they go out at 5 a.m, they clean up an area.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen the people come along, check, trying to get the check, checking all the Dublin City Council bins.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, remember, there&#8217;s 3,500 bins in the city and they&#8217;re going through them, they&#8217;re dumping out stuff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then the city council has to clean up again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1638638\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DRS-MandS-new-alt.jpg\" alt=\"A worker demonstrates a Deposit Return Scheme Reverse Vending Machine in a Marks &amp; Spencer supermarket in Dublin, 1-2-34\" width=\"1841\" height=\"1573\"\/> A worker demonstrates a Deposit Return Scheme Reverse Vending Machine in a Marks &amp; Spencer supermarket in Dublin, 1-2-34. Image: Stephanie Rohan\/Newstalk<\/p>\n<p>Cllr Ring added that Dublin City Council estimates that the extra costs of cleaning up after the \u2018bin scavengers\u2019 is \u20ac1 million a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It is money, he believes, that could be better spent on more worthwhile projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, we&#8217;re not only recycling, we&#8217;re re-cleaning streets now,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd that is a consequence of this particular scheme, which I think we really have to look at.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cllr Ring continued that he had even heard of people going through the bins outside people\u2019s homes looking for containers to recycle since the launch of the Deposit Return Scheme.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnecdotally, I&#8217;ve heard that a few times,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I don&#8217;t think it certainly isn&#8217;t as prevalent as the people who are giving the seagulls a run for their money around town, ripping open bags and just going through them and leaving the bags there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat&#8217;s the real issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement to Newstalk, Re-turn said it was &#8220;open to engagement with Dublin City Council on this issue&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Since the scheme\u2019s introduction, recycling rates for in-scope containers have increased from 49% to an estimated re-turn rate of over 90%, with over 76% captured directly through the scheme,&#8221; a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Independent data also shows a 60% reduction in bottle and can litter nationwide, with Ireland\u2019s coastlines recording the lowest levels in 25 years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Main image: A man rummaging through a bin. Picture by: Alamy.com\/.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Dublin Councillor has said the Deposit Return Scheme is something the Government \u2018really has to look at\u2019&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[246,61,60,82],"class_list":["post-279452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}