Re-turn: Ireland’s Deposit Return Scheme – A Step Towards a Circular Economy

Through Re-turn, Ireland is taking a significant step towards a circular economy. Abtran’s omnichannel support empowers consumers, producers, and retailers to participate fully with the scheme and contribute to improved recycling. This collaborative effort is paving the way for a more sustainable future in Ireland.

Ireland’s Challenge and the Launch of Re-turn
Re-turn was established in Ireland to operate the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for the 1.9bn single-use plastic bottles and aluminum/steel cans consumed each year.

The primary goals and reasons for its establishment are:

• Boost Recycling Rates: To significantly increase the recycling rate of these drinks containers in Ireland and help the country meet EU recycling targets (77% by 2025, rising to 90% by 2029 for plastic bottles).
• Reduce Litter and Waste: To incentivise consumers to return their empty containers, thereby reducing the amount of litter on roadsides, beaches, and in the environment, and diverting waste from landfills or incineration.
• Promote a Circular Economy: To move away from a “take, make, and dispose” culture towards a more circular economy where valuable materials are kept in use for as long as possible. This means that the returned bottles and cans can be recycled into new ones, reducing the need for virgin materials.
• Ensure High-Quality Recyclate: By separately collecting these containers through the DRS, the quality of the recycled material (recyclate) is much higher (up to 98% compared to around 80% from traditional recycling bins), which is crucial for creating new food-grade packaging.
• Fulfill Producer Obligations: Re-turn (specifically, Deposit Return Scheme Ireland CLG) was set up by beverage producers and retailers to fulfill their legal obligations under the Separate Collection (Deposit Return Scheme) Regulations 2021.

By shifting away from the traditional “take, make, and dispose” culture, Re-turn creates a circular economy – where materials are returned and kept in circulation for as long as possible. So, how does it work? When consumers buy a drink in a plastic bottle, aluminium or steel can featuring the Re-turn logo, they pay a small deposit in addition to the price of the drink. The consumer gets the deposit back in full when the empty and undamaged drink container is returned to participating shops and supermarkets. This motivates individuals to engage in recycling actively and significantly contributes to achieving Ireland’s recycling targets.

This fundamental shift in mindset offered a tangible solution to Ireland’s mounting environmental challenges, encouraging consumers, producers, and retailers to participate actively in waste reduction. By binding these stakeholders together in a shared responsibility, Re-turn seeks to reimagine waste as a valuable resource that should be recovered and reused. Abtran was tasked with setting up a state-of-the-art Contact Centre for the client to enhance the delivery of the Re-turn DRS scheme and support the Irish consumer through this new initiative.

Our service includes:

• Inbound support across telephony, web chat, email, and social media
• 24/7 digital assistance via chatbot and monitored DMs across Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn
• Traditional phone support from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday
• Case management dashboards for interaction tracking, reporting, and prioritisation
• Full integration of knowledge resources with Amazon Q for faster agent enablement

Abtran played a critical role in supporting the successful launch of Re-turn. We were able to set up the entire service in just three weeks, a remarkable feat achieved through our unique collaborative onboarding approach. This rapid deployment was instrumental in ensuring a smooth program launch for Re-turn.

Knowledge Management and Innovation with Amazon Q

Centralising knowledge management was a key part of our strategy to ensure prompt and accurate responses to every customer interaction. Abtran became one of the first contact centres in Ireland to deploy Amazon Q’s Generative AI solution, reinforcing our commitment to innovation.

Amazon Q supports agents by:

• Searching and querying data
• Generating natural language responses
• Providing layered answers with quick access to original information sources

Agent training time was significantly reduced, with new agents reaching full competency within hours instead of weeks. Amazon Q delivers nuanced, context-rich responses that go beyond traditional knowledge bases. The tool was instrumental in enhancing agent performance during the critical go-live period, ensuring a strong and confident service launch.

By consolidating resources and information, we created a structured, easy-to-navigate knowledge base, enabling the team to access accurate and relevant data swiftly. This information is also plugged into Amazon Connect’s innovative Q feature. Thanks to this user-friendly knowledge base, our agents can make informed decisions and maintain consistent service delivery levels.

Our in-depth operational and case management dashboards allow for efficient coordination, management, and prioritisation of interactions across the various platforms. The solution also allows for seamless reporting for the client in close collaboration with our expert Abtran BI team, including tailored metrics around the Omnichannel service, outbound manual calls, call handling times, and SLA summaries. This visibility allows us to be flexible and reactive and to scale the service to meet demand in response to busier periods and fluctuating consumer requirements.

Abtran’s commitment to Re-turn’s success extends beyond the contact centre. We are providing additional value through field-based customer service. Our team directly gathers valuable customer insights from consumers and retailers. This crucial feedback is instrumental in driving continuous improvement for the Re-turn programme.