Colm O'Regan: Why reusing makes more sense than recycling

Colm O'Regan: "Since the scheme began, we’ve been hauling back our empties — sometimes shamefacedly on Sunday mornings — 15 cans of Galahad in hand." Picture: Andres Poveda.

I noticed it across the road. It’s simultaneously the most hopeful yet slightly depressing billboard you could see.

Re-turn, the operator of Ireland’s Deposit Return Scheme, is celebrating a major milestone: one billion drinks containers returned by the Irish public. That’s enough bottles and cans to circle the globe 4.7 times.