Re-Turn Heroes
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When you buy a drink in a plastic bottle, aluminium, or steel – you also buy a high-quality recyclable material. With around 30% of these materials ending up in landfill, there was a need to boost recycling rates. However, if these materials are discarded in landfills, they could take centuries—or even millennia—to break down, all the while leaching toxic chemicals into the surrounding soil and groundwater. The production of these materials has historically required significant energy input. By recycling them, we bypass the need to expend that energy again, effectively conserving resources and reducing environmental impact. The Re-Turn scheme was introduced in Ireland in 2024 with the aim of meeting the target recycling rate of 90% of these valuable materials.
Re-Turn Project
A student-led initiative led to the launch of the Re-Turn scheme to Bolton Street and Linenhall campuses. Prior to this, regular campus bins with their dry mixed recyclables sections filled up rapidly each day, leaving the potential for recyclable waste to go astray. Through the introduction of the Re-Turn project the goal was to reduce drinks container waste across these buildings.
Led by TU Dublin’s Student Volunteering students Aleksander Biegalski, Alex Siedlok and Cosmin Clopotaru, they were joined by lecturer Dr Colm O'Kane and Chaplain Paul Mallon to oversee the introduction of the scheme. It sparked immediate interest across the Bolton Street campus community, and they were soon joined by Martin Lynam, Grumpy Mule Café manager onsite.
The project started small – through repurposing three old bins to launch the first Re-Turn collection point. The bins were strategically placed outside the main cafeteria and combined with clear, informative signage encouraged students and staff to recycle properly. It quickly became clear that the volume of drinks container waste far exceeded what three repurposed bins could handle, and more suitable bins were needed.
With the support from the Green-Campus Open-Call funding, the team could purchase nine larger wheelie bins. Wheelie bins drastically improved the portability of the waste from the collection point onwards. This improved volume meant that they could be positioned in other parts of the building including the Students’ Union area which had high footfall.
Environmental and Social Impact
In the space of just over two months, 2,516 bottles and 4,570 cans were sent correctly into a recycling system for recovery. Each returned drink container earns €0.15, and following their first successful collection, the team saw an opportunity to channel these earnings into supporting local charities. To date, the team have collected €1,100 and have committed it to the benefit of the local community.
Their first collection was donated to 'Friends of the Elderly', a local charity which supports older people facing loneliness or isolation. This partnership with the local charity resulted in a Christmas lunch, generously sponsored by Bolton Street cafeteria manager, Aramark's Martin Lynam, bringing together charity beneficiaries and students.
Subsequent recipients were the Red Cross Foundation, an organisation dedicated to helping vulnerable people prepare for, endure, and recover from emergencies within their communities. This donation was the largest from a single contributor this year which led to the team receiving an award at the TU Dublin Students’ Union Awards. Funds generated from the scheme will continue to go to a local charity or projects that work towards the achievement of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The initiative has inspired others around TU Dublin. Students and staff on other campuses have set up their own Re-turn schemes and they are now up and running on all of TU Dublin’s campuses.
Shared Impact
At TU Dublin we are committed to progressing the UN SDGs through collaboration and action. This project addresses targets under SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. SDG 12 addresses sustainable and efficient use of natural resources, reduce waste and embed sustainable practice.
This project aligns with the Green-Campus theme of Litter & Waste. Under this theme we explore the practical means for preventing, reducing and minimising the amount of litter and waste produced by the campus. As part of our Climate Action Roadmap, we aim to implement circular economy principles by reducing waste, reusing, and repairing products and materials, and to recycle effectively.
Green-Campus Open Call
The Green-Campus Open Call can help bring ideas like these to life by making micro-grants available to selected project ideas submitted in response to the open call. The Green-Campus programme encourages a partnership approach to environmental education and management. To optimise the potential for impact, the Green-Campus Open Call programme encourages project proposals that can be implemented using the Living Lab approach and that include exploration, co-creation, experimentation and evaluation phases.