COMMENT: Queuing for the Re-turn machine gave me flashbacks of Covid-19

Nearly six months after its introduction, the Re-turn scheme for plastic bottles and drink cans, brought back some unwanted and forgotten memories.

Recently, while queuing for the machines at my local supermarket, my mind flashed back to 2020 and the first of the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The memories of those first few months of social distancing, travel restrictions and daily NPHET briefings had long been forgotten following the return to ‘normality’. 

This time four years ago, people had to wait outside grocery stores and supermarkets, often for hours,  to ensure that social distancing could be maintained inside to minimise the spread of the coronavirus.

Groceries were being wiped down at the front door of homes and it was a lonely and strange time.

Now people are queuing outside stores again - this time with trolleys and bags that are full of used plastic bottles and drink cans.

I thought I was being clever by planning my ‘big shop’ late on a Sunday night and never did it occur to me that others would be doing the same.

Having parked my car and removed the bag containing almost 80 cans and bottles, I made my way to the bank of Re-turn machines located close to the entrance of the store.

To my surprise, there were more than a dozen people ahead of me and the queue was like what you might see for the toilets at a music festival or at a big match at Croke Park.

Some of those ahead of me had their bottles and cans in plastic bags or cardboard boxes while others had placed them in the supermarket trolley which would later be filled with groceries.

I was abandoned by my wife less than 90 seconds after we joined the queue and as she walked off to ‘browse’ she told me to call her when I was finished.

On the night, some of those ahead of me became frustrated as some bottles and cans were ‘rejected’ while another of the machines was ‘full’ which slowed down my progress reaching the top of the queue.   

Having been alerted, a worker replaced the giant orange-coloured Re-turn bin with an empty one - ensuring it was securely locked before being collected the following day.

Just like during Covid, I kept my distance from the person in front of me and it did not seem appropriate to engage in small talk. Like others, I aimlessly scrolled on my phone to pass the time as I slowly made my way to the machine.

The sound of aluminium cans and bottles being crushed every couple of seconds was now the soundtrack to my Sunday evening while my mind was transported back to the summer of 2020.

Just like during Covid, time seemed to move more slowly and almost 20 minutes later, I made it to my destination and off-loaded my bottles and cans as quickly as I could - one by one.

Having printed off my voucher for €11.75, it was time for the shopping to begin.

While the Re-turn scheme may be good for the environment, it’s not good for my mental health!