I think many people can agree that New Year resolutions can cause unnecessary stress and pressure. Deciding on a realistic resolution can be trickier than it seems. Should you join the gym or decide to take up running? Focus on spending or decide to travel more? These are the burning questions that plague many of us as a new year looms.

What often happens is that you get so overwhelmed deciding on what goals to set that you end up becoming paralysed and not implementing any of them at all. I know I’ve fallen victim to this more times than I care to admit. 

Also the expectation that you can wake up one morning, invoke a multitude of changes and start living completely differently from the day before is highly unrealistic. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither are new habits. Implementing a new habit takes time and consistency, not perfection.

That’s why it’s so important to set tangible, realistic goals to ring in the New Year right. 

If you're looking to make an impactful change for 2026 why not start recycling the right way?

While you might not think it, re-turning plastic bottles and cans instead of placing them in the mixed recycling bin at home is a small act that makes a big difference.

While, of course, you can recycle at home, putting cans and plastic bottles in the mixed recycling bin doesn't have as many benefits as re-turning.

When you put them in your mixed recycling bin, they get mixed together with dirty takeaway containers, bits of cardboard and other non-recyclable materials which inevitably slip in. This leads to cross-contamination, which affects the quality of the material that can be recycled.

With Re-turn, your plastic bottles and cans are automatically separated. What this means is the plastic bottles stay with plastic bottles, and aluminium cans stay with aluminium cans.

Re-turning plastic bottles and cans separately from other recyclable items ensures a higher-quality recyclate, making sure the materials can be reused! This means your plastic Pepsi bottle is more likely to become another bottle, and your Club Orange can is more likely to become another can, creating a circular economy for drinks containers.

When a new plastic bottle is being made, over 95% of the recycled containers should come from food contact materials like drinks containers. The Irish Deposit Return scheme is consistently producing around 98%.

So if you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution, start small by recycling the right way.

With almost 2,800 reverse vending machines, 1,000 manual return points, and 4,400 puls  clubs and organisations collecting cans and plastic bottles for fundraising, it's never been easier to make an impactful change. 

With recent research from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showing that Ireland needs to recycle an additional 400,000 tonnes of waste every year to reach its targets, why not help the effort by starting with your empty cans and plastic bottles? 

So start 2026 by setting a simple habit that makes a big impact. 

Re-turn It Right with Ireland’s Deposit Return Scheme — return your bottles and cans while out and about and get your deposit back. It’s quick, easy, and makes a difference. 

Find your nearest location here.