Irish people have embraced the government’s Deposit Returns Scheme with enthusiasm since its launch in February this year. The scheme incentivises consumers to return their empty beverage containers for recycling or reuse rather than being discarded as litter. Consumers who return their plastic bottles and aluminium cans are refunded the initial 15 cent or 25 cent deposit paid at point of purchase. The returns are then transported to a specialised processing facility to be recycled.
The results are clear to see with fewer plastic bottles and cans on the streets, Ireland’s towns, cities and coastlines are now cleaner. Irish Business Against Litter has reported lower litter levels nationwide, while Coastwatch has observed a very significant reduction in plastic bottles and aluminium cans washing up on Irish shorelines.
In the longer term, the bigger prize will be minimising the impact of plastic on the environment and on human health, while also saving on the production, water and energy costs incurred when manufacturing containers.
Lidl Ireland has played a key role in the success of the scheme since its inception with about 20 per cent of all returns coming through its stores. This is particularly impressive given Lidl’s market share in the Irish grocery sector is closer to 14 per cent, according to Kantar. The fact that Lidl is punching above its weight in terms of the volume of containers processed for recycling is largely down to its €50 million investment in the infrastructure and store layout required to provide two convenient, easy-to-use deposit return machines in every one of its 180 stores across the Republic of Ireland.
This investment underlines Lidl’s commitment to supporting Ireland’s passage towards a more circular economy as part of its wider sustainability strategy, A Better Tomorrow.
Since the official launch of the Deposit Return Scheme, Lidl has processed 100 million eligible bottles and cans and returned more than €17 million in deposits to customers. According to the company’s latest statistics, customers are recycling an average of around 24 bottles and cans per visit at Lidl stores and redeeming an average of over €4.20 in deposit refunds each time.
The investment required to finance the global transition to a low carbon economy is estimated to be in the trillions of dollars per year until 2050, while Ireland’s needs alone are estimated to be about €20 billion per year. Given the scale of the challenge, banks have a big role to play in supporting their customers to fund the transition which is crucial to combat the devastating impact of climate change.
“AIB’s purpose is empowering people to build a sustainable future,” says Glenn Shanley, AIB co-head of corporate banking. “So, we were delighted to provide sustainability champion Lidl with a green loan to fully support its investment in the Deposit Returns Scheme which is already delivering clear social and environmental benefits. We stand ready to support our customers with our €30 billion Climate Action Fund to help protect our people, our planet and our prosperity for generations to come.”
AIB provides green loans to customers for green projects which have strong environmental credentials, measurable benefits and meaningful impact such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate change adaptation, green buildings, and the circular economy. A small portion of the green loan also helped fund Lidl’s store in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, which has an A1 building energy efficiency rating.
“We’re delighted to lead the retail sector in contributing significantly to Ireland’s sustainability targets and to reach the 100 million containers returned milestone after just eight months of the scheme being live,” says Avril O’Hehir, chief administrative officer and board executive with Lidl Ireland.
“As the first retailer to launch a Deposit Returns Scheme trial back in 2021 at our stores in Glenageary in Dublin and Claremorris in Mayo, we have prioritised providing a customer-centric experience so that everyone can come to a Lidl store and be confident in using the reverse vending machines to claim back their deposits in an accessible, quick and easy way,” she adds. “Our significant investment in our trial and state-of-the-art fitout of machines in our stores has been well worth it and it’s great to see so many people choose to recycle with their local Lidl store and to play their part in helping Ireland transition to a circular economy.”
AIB is hosting its eighth annual AIB Sustainability Conference on Monday 25th November from 9am to 1pm. Keynote speakers include actor and environmentalist Edward Norton and former president of Ireland, chairwoman of The Elders & former UN special envoy on climate change Mary Robinson. The online event is free and registration is now open at AIBsustainabilityconference.ie/register