Deposit return schemes

Every year Northern Ireland consumers go through an estimated 420 million plastic drinks bottles and 90 million drinks cans, many of which are littered or condemned to landfill. Evidence has shown that a deposit return scheme can become a simple part of daily life to make recycling easier, and reduce those burdens on the environment.

Through a small refundable deposit placed on single-use drinks containers, deposit return schemes incentivise people to recycle their drinks bottles and cans to redeem their deposits. 

This guide explains how deposit return schemes work, the development of a deposit return scheme in Northern Ireland, and the parallel scheme in the Republic of Ireland which may have implications if you export drinks to the ROI market.