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.