CORK AIRPORT HAS installed reverse vending machines (RVMs) as part of the Deposit Return Scheme.
The airport will have four in total – two pink charity RVMs and two standard RVMs – with one of each located landside and airside at the airport.
This means that passengers who purchase drinks in plastic bottles or cans, on which they pay a deposit at airport shops and cafés, can now get their money back.
Deposits from drinks containers returned to the charity reverse vending machines will go to the ‘Return for Children’ initiative, which includes six of Ireland’s largest children’s charities.
These are Barnardos Ireland, Barretstown, Childline by ISPCC, Jack & Jill, LauraLynn Children’s Hospice, and Make-A-Wish Ireland.
The charity machines were previously used at events including Electric Picnic, the Bord Bia Bloom Festival, and the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at the Aviva Stadium. To date, over €70,000 has been raised.
Cork is the first airport in the country to install the machines. Dublin Airport currently has no plans to do so.
The shops have to charge the 15c to 25c deposit on bottles and cans. But if customers return with their empties, shops have to take them and return the deposit, even if there’s no machine on site.
This is practically impossible for passengers who leave the shopping area and go to their gate, as they aren’t allowed back.
A spokesperson for DAA, the operator of both airports, said: “Bottles and cans purchased airside at Dublin Airport can be returned to WH Smith in both terminals.
“We look forward to seeing how the pilot of Reverse Vending Machines at Cork Airport – which also sits within the DAA group – goes over the coming six months.”
Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director at Cork Airport said that recycling plastic bottles was a “must have” scheme whilst Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Dan Boyle commended the airport for its innovative approach to ensuring a sustainable future for Ireland.
Through the Deposit Return Scheme, aluminium cans can be recycled infinitely while PET plastic bottles can be recycled multiple times, reducing the need for virgin materials.
With reporting by Olivia Kelleher
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