{"id":474479,"date":"2026-05-30T09:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T09:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/474479\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T09:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T09:16:09","slug":"call-to-spend-deposit-return-scheme-cash-on-cleaning-up-bin-scavenging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/474479\/","title":{"rendered":"Call to spend Deposit Return Scheme cash on cleaning up &#8216;bin scavenging&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Any unclaimed cash from the Deposit Return Scheme should be spent on cleaning up after the \u2018bin scavenging\u2019, a newspaper columnist has argued.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since the Deposit Return Scheme was introduced in 2024, over 2.4 billion bottles and cans have been recycled.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Before the scheme, only 49% of bottles and cans were recycled; that figure now stands at 90%.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, Dublin City Council has said it now spends \u20ac500,000 on cleaning up after people who rummage through the bins, strewing waste on the pavement, searching for bottles and cans.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newstalk.com\/shows\/the-claire-byrne-show-2228535\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Claire Byrne Show<\/a>, Irish Independent columnist Martina Devlin said she only recently realised the extraordinary lengths people go to obtain the bottles and cans.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of a sudden, an arm reached out across my line of vision and seized something from our table,\u201d she recalled.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course, I immediately thought, \u2018Oh my God, I&#8217;ve been robbed.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started patting my pockets and the seat from my phone or my bag, but to my relief, both were untouched.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, I looked around to see what had been taken and it was a just finished bottle of water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1406388\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/deposit-scheme-edit.jpg\" alt=\"A can and bottle deposit return recycling system is seen in Norway in September 2020.\" width=\"1909\" height=\"1920\"\/> A Depsoit Return Scheme vending machine. Picture by: Jonathan Sumpton \/ Alamy.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Devlin said it seemed like rather \u201cbrazen\u201d behaviour to her given that he did not ask for permission.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe snatch told me something that I&#8217;d known in theory, but hadn&#8217;t really thought about in practice,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese plastic bottles and cans, which are suitable for the Deposit Return Scheme, have a direct monetary value and people are collecting them for that purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Ms Devlin said she still feels the scheme is a \u201cgood thing\u201d, noting it has increased the recycling rate and helped schools raise money for good causes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe issue I think that&#8217;s being raised is rubbish being thrown around the streets,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe random rummagers are going through bins for empties and they&#8217;re tossing food waste and other litter about the street.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, not all cans and bottles are disposed of using Deposit Return Scheme vending machines.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As a result, in 2024 \u20ac66.7 million in cash went unclaimed and Ms Devlin believes it should be passed onto local authorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSurely that should go to Dublin City Centre to help keep the capital clean?\u201d she suggested.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, it&#8217;s meant to be a not-for-profit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Main image: A worker demonstrates a Deposit Return Scheme Reverse Vending Machine. Picture by: Stephanie Rohan\/Newstalk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Any unclaimed cash from the Deposit Return Scheme should be spent on cleaning up after the \u2018bin scavenging\u2019,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[246,61,60,82],"class_list":["post-474479","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\/474479","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=474479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}