Politicians are not yet being charged a “deposit” on bottles and cans being sold in Leinster House, despite the public forking out 15c to 25c extra on drinks for the last five weeks.
The Oireachtas confirmed to the Irish Mirror that it will not be installing a reverse vending machine on its campus and has been granted a “take back” exemption from Re-Turn Ireland.
However, Ossian Smyth, the Green Party Minister in charge of the scheme, told the Irish Mirror that politicians and Leinster House need to “lead by example” and we would like to see a machine installed.
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The Deposit Return Scheme was introduced on February 1. It has seen a deposit between 15c and 25c placed on containers, depending on their size.
In a statement to the Irish Mirror, the Oireachtas confirmed that they are yet to start charging deposits on products. This is despite the fact that some of the bottles and cans for sale have the return logo.
It also confirmed that it will not be installing a Reverse Vending Machine at the moment. “Members’ Services (Catering) fully support the Re-Turn initiative and the circular economy model, and following examinations of the scheme we have looked at what options were available to us,” a spokesperson said.
“The catering facilities are more akin to a staff canteen, with a hospitality facility available for guests and groups. They do not act as a true retail outlet.
“The self-service canteen and the bars are not suitable for reverse vending machines due to significant space constraints and associated payment and credit processing requirements at service tills. The Oireachtas Service will therefore not be installing a RVM at this time.
“In relation to the deposit charges, we have all necessary infrastructure and development added to our Electronic Point of Sales software to pass on the deposit levy.
“We are awaiting official confirmation to commence, once the transition period from old stock to new stock is fully complete, customers are entitled to take back containers to relevant locations for a refund.” The spokesperson also confirmed that the services was a “take back” exemption from Re-Turn Ireland which they say is “commonplace across the hospitality sector”.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Minister Smyth stated that he would like to see Leinster House install a machine.
He also said that the Oireachtas will be “losing money” if it pays the deposit themselves and does not pass it on to customers. He also explained that customers who did not pay the deposit at the till can still claim it back if the product has a logo.
Minister Smyth said: “Politicians are paying. Everyone in the country has to pay the deposits on cans and bottles The deposit is charged at the time of production. When Coca-Cola makes a pallet of Coke, they have to pay the 15c on each can produced. They pass the cost on to the wholesaler and they pass it on to the retailer and they pass it on the customer.
“When the Oireachtas canteen goes to buy a tray of bottled water, their deposit will be in there.
“I think it is very important that politicians are doing all the things that they are telling other people to do. If we’re saying to people, ‘You should bring back your cans and bottles’, we should get a machine to get politicians to bring back their cans and bottles.
“[Politicians] should be leading my example.” Mr Smyth also said that around 350,000 bottles and cans are now being returned through reverse vending machines daily.
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This story first appeared on Radio Today