Minister questions Re-turn's plan to use €60m of unredeemed deposits to build plastic recycling plant

The company currently exports up to 90% of PET plastic collected through the scheme due to the absence of a bottle-to-bottle facility in Ireland that can process the material needed to produce new drink containers. File picture

The minister responsible for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) has raised a number of questions regarding Re-turn’s plans to use €60 million of its proceeds to build a plastic recycling facility.

Correspondence obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows that Alan Dillon queried whether the plan would be permissible under competition law, and whether it may affect Re-turn’s not-for-profit status.

He also raised the prospect of returning “some of the €60 million” to the State’s circular economy fund — likely referring to the €66.7 million in unredeemed deposits retained by Re-turn in 2024.

Internal emails refer to a number of “outstanding questions” raised by Mr Dillon in relation to Re-turn’s plan to build a bottle-to-bottle plastic recycling facility in Ireland.

They included concerns over whether the use of €60 million in proceeds from the DRS to build a recycling plant might contravene State aid rules, which restrict anti-competitive behaviour by national governments.

He also asked the operator of the scheme about the State’s role in the proposed recycling plant, and whether the development of the facility would be permissible under existing legislation.

Despite these concerns, the CEO of Re-turn was informed in correspondence from a department official at the end of last year that the minister was satisfied that the potential opportunity should be explored further.

However, they reminded the CEO that Mr Dillon’s consent would be required before any final commitments. He also sought an independent analysis of possible ownership or operating models for the development.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment confirmed that Re-turn had expressed an ambition to develop Ireland’s first recycling plant for PET bottles using unredeemed deposits.

“To this end, the company has conducted an expressions-of-interest process to establish possible parameters for such a development. The company has briefed the minister and the department on its plans,” she said.

“The department is currently evaluating the various public policy issues that arise from the proposal.” 

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The company currently exports up to 90% of PET plastic collected through the scheme due to the absence of a bottle-to-bottle facility in Ireland that can process the material needed to produce new drink containers.

At the end of 2024, Re-turn had €66.7 million in unredeemed deposits — money paid on bottles and cans by consumers who never brought the empties back to dedicated collection points.

A further €55 million in unredeemed deposits had been racked up by the end of September last year, according to official figures.

In an email to a department official ahead of a meeting with Re-turn last November, Mr Dillon’s special advisor asked that “the potential to return some of the €60 million to the circular economy fund” be added to his briefing note.

There is no record of a response from the company on this point.