Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his update on the circular economy. I welcome his statement on the banning of disposable vapes. They are a scourge on our environment and far too easy to buy. There is the added issue of HHC vapes, which are causing problems for people with mental health issues. That is a matter for the Department of Health, though.

I welcome the deposit return scheme. People seemed to be queuing up to knock it, just wishing and hoping it would not be a success, and many seemed far too overjoyed by the initial teething problems. Its success has been great to see, though. My understanding is that the success rate when segregating recyclables in this way is much higher.

That said, the scheme is not without its issues, and we need to ensure that these are tackled. I am not looking for praise, but I wish to give an example of what can happen. I filled my first bag with plastic bottles and a few cans and eagerly brought it to the supermarket. I was excited about using the scheme for the first time, only to arrive at the machine and for it to tell me it was out of printing paper. I had to pause my first use of the scheme. It was a bit frustrating, but I was not going to take to X like others had done. I was successful on my second go and got €2 off the cost of my shopping. I was overjoyed. There was a sense of success. However, there will be issues. What are we doing to ensure we deal with teething issues as quickly as we can so that as many people as possible use the deposit return machines?

When these machines are used, what is the successful percentage of recycling compared with domestic recycling options?