SuperValu and Centra have announced the return of over 125 million eligible single-use containers through the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) within its first eight months, becoming the first retailers in Ireland to reach this milestone. This achievement represents the largest number of returns in the country and highlights a significant shift in the nation’s recycling habits. It also reflects the retailers’ commitment to sustainability, offering the most extensive network of Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) across Ireland, promoting waste reduction and a circular economy.
Since the scheme’s launch in February, SuperValu and Centra stores have achieved a total of 125 million returned containers. Public engagement has surged in recent months, with more than 91 million containers returned since June alone, resulting in a return rate of over 95% for that period. This rate indicates the proportion of containers returned through Reverse Vending Machines in SuperValu and Centra stores nationwide, relative to total container sales.
Stores in Dublin, Cork, Meath, Galway, and Kildare have seen the highest volume of returns within the SuperValu and Centra store network.
Launching in February this year, SuperValu and Centra invested €28 million in Reverse Vending Machines across their store networks nationwide, as part of their continued focus to build more sustainable communities.
SuperValu and Centra have installed 686 Reverse Vending Machines in 549 stores across all 26 counties in Ireland, the largest deployment by any retailer. This approach to DRS implementation focused on providing the most convenient option for customers, ensuring that both large and small communities nationwide have easy access to recycling return points, helping customers adapt their recycling habits.
SuperValu and Centra continue to see growing interaction with their Reverse Vending Machines as the year progresses, with a number of stores ordering larger and additional machines to facilitate demand. According to both retailers, consumer behaviour indicates strong adoption of the scheme with weekends being the busiest period for recycling. In recent months, consumers are bringing higher volume of returns at once, averaging 24 containers per visit.
Speaking about the scheme, Luke Hanlon, Managing Director of SuperValu and Centra said: “As a result of offering the largest number of Reverse Vending Machines in convenient locations across every county in Ireland, we are delighted to see such a high level of interaction from our customers with the Deposit Return Scheme in our stores, with over 125 million containers returned in total since its introduction in February. This is a testament to our loyal customers embracing the scheme which benefits not only them, but also the wider environment. Our data indicates that since June over 95% of eligible cans and bottles we sell have been returned through our RVM machines nationwide. This is a significant increase in the average nationwide recycle rate for these items, which was estimated at 60%–70% before the scheme’s introduction.”
“I would also like to thank our retailers for the effort and investment that has gone into rolling out the scheme. We and our retailers understand the important role we play in caring for the environment and ensuring that we make the implementation of the DRS scheme as easy and convenient as possible for our customers. Customers are increasingly sustainability focused and it’s essential that as community retailers, SuperValu and Centra are able to empower more eco-friendly recycling habits. This demonstrates the positive benefits of our ‘Local Action Global Impact’ initiative, showing that small, community-based efforts can contribute to the broader fight against environmental challenges.”
