The new Deposit Return Scheme is an “absolutely daft” idea conceived for political gain, Kieran Cuddihy has claimed.

The Hard Shoulder host said the scheme has made recycling more complicated than necessary and called on Government to focus on real environmental issues like binge flying and the high number of SUVs on the roads.

The scheme was launched on February 1st and has been criticised as a financial burden on small businesses forced to comply with new logo rules on all plastic and aluminium containers.

Cans and bottles up to 500ml now come with a 15c surcharge, which can be claimed back at machines and over the counter, while containers greater than 500ml are charged an additional 25c.

Kieran said he has been cooperating with the scheme for weeks and can now “firmly say that it is a total pain in the backside”.

“What the Government has done is taken a system that worked perfectly well in our house, and I would wager a lot of other houses too and made it more complicated and more cumbersome,” he said.

“I’m not saying it is one of the labours of Hercules but it is still a dose.

“We have a container on the floor of our kitchen for bottles and cans as there is nowhere else to put it.

“We used to put it in the blue bin but now we are storing our rubbish out on the floor because the Government wants us to – I think it is absolutely daft in this day and age.”

'Infuriated'

Kieran said he has been left “infuriated” by the scheme.

“We had something that was working in this country and then the Government decided to break it,” he said.

“They broke it just so a Minister could get a photo op beside a DRS machine and claim some progress in a manifesto.

“There are bigger issues to spend our time on like the destruction of the ecosystem, binge flying, and SUVs clogging up our roads.”

A worker demonstrates a Deposit Return Scheme Reverse Vending Machine in a Marks & Spencer supermarket in Dublin, 1-2-34. Image: Stephanie Rohan/Newstalk

The public’s patience is now wearing thin with Government, according to The Hard Shoulder host.

“A Government can only piss people off so many times before they say ‘enough,’” said Kieran.

“I’m sorry to use that language, but it is the reality of it.

“When they say now, 'We want to cap how much you fly and try and prevent you buying the car you want,' you're much more likely to push back on that because you're annoyed with what they did here.”

Kieran said the Government has wasted a lot of its “political capital” on the scheme.

Main image: Kieran Cuddihy pictured in the Newstalk studio yesterday. Image: Newstalk