Many households were already recycling long before the Deposit Return Scheme arrived.
So why are ministers celebrating it as though it solved a problem that didn't already have a solution?
Yes, over 1.6 billion bottles and cans have been returned. But for many people, the experience has been anything but convenient.
Return machines out of order.
Machines rejecting perfectly good containers.
Long queues at busy times.
Bags of bottles and cans piling up at home while recycling bins, that households already pay to have collected, sit half empty.
Many families feel they have gone from simply placing their recycling into the green bin to storing sticky bottles and cans in the house until they can find a working machine.
If you already paid for a recycling service and were recycling responsibly, did this scheme really improve your life, or did it just make recycling more complicated?
The environmental goal of increasing recycling is one thing. But celebrating the scheme without acknowledging the frustrations experienced by many households feels out of touch.
What has your experience been?
Has the Deposit Return Scheme made recycling better for you, or has it simply added more inconvenience?
not one brave enough to use their own photo and a few pAtRiOtS for good measure. 
