Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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215. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the up-to-date position on having the deposit return scheme available at civic amenity sites in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42492/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Deposit Return Scheme was established to run primarily on a return-to-retail model, where consumers bring empty containers back to a retailer to recoup their deposit. There are currently over 3,517 retail return points, about 90% of which are Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs), providing a high level of coverage across the country. To date, 1.6 billion containers have been returned through retail collection points.

The DRS scheme also allows for non-retail operators, such as civic amenity sites, to provide take-back facilities to complement the collection infrastructure provided by retailers.

Re-turn has advised that maximising the availability of RVMs across the country is a business priority. The company is currently developing an RVM Coverage Roadmap to identify locations of interest where no RVM return point exists to support further rollout. I would encourage the local authority in County Cork to engage with Re-turn to progress this matter locally.