All eligible plastic and canned drinks containers on the Irish market must be part of the Deposit Return Scheme from Saturday.

June 1st is the deadline for any older stock which does not feature the Re-turn logo to be removed from shelves.

Retailers were given four months' notice to sell through any remaining non-logo and non-deposit stock.

It comes as Ireland achieved its highest monthly total of over 75 million containers returned - more than February, March and April combined.

The total averages at 2.5 million returns per day in May - a significant rise from two million containers returned in the entire month of February.

A can and bottle deposit return recycling system is seen in Norway in September 2020. Image: Jonathan Sumpton / Alamy

The company says consumers are on track to achieve over 150 million drinks containers returned since the launch of the scheme.

Re-turn said deposit return points may become busier as more containers are part of the scheme.

Data shows that the most popular days to return drinks containers are Friday, Saturdays and Sundays.

Re-turn CEO Ciaran Foley said he expects the numbers to increase further.

"We are delighted to see the growth to date in the average numbers of containers returned, and we expect to see this continue as we move out of the transition period," he said.

"The cooperation of producers, retailers and the public has significantly contributed to the success of Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme so far," he added.

Re-turn says if consumers are sold a container without a logo after June 1st, they should contact info@re-turn.ie

Main image: A Re-turn Deposit Return Scheme machine is seen at a Tesco supermarket, 27-4-24. Image: Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ie