Sydney bottle manufacturer Coca-Cola Amatil has welcomed the New South Wales Government’s decision to appoint Exchange for Change to coordinate the state’s refund Container Deposit Scheme (CDS).
Exchange for Change is an industry joint venture involving Coca-Cola Amatil, Asahi, Carlton and United Breweries, Coopers and Lion.
The companies will produce and distribute three quarters of the scheme, which will be rolled out across the state in December.
According to the NSW Environment Protection Authority, container litter makes up 44 per cent of all litter in the state and costs more than $162 million to manage.
Hailed as the largest litter reduction scheme introduced to NSW, it is predicted to reduce the volume of litter in the state by 40 per cent by 2020.
“Through Exchange for Change, Amatil will continue to work with the industry and NSW Government to ensure the scheme operates efficiently to minimize the impact to customers and consumers, has robust and transparent governance and achieves the targeted environment outcomes,” a Coca-Cola Amatil spokesperson said.
The NSW Government has also announced its decision to appoint TOMRA-Cleanaway as the network’s operator, which will be responsible for establishing and managing a network of collection points across the state, include reverse vending machines.
The cost of the scheme is subject to a number of factors, including the container redemption rate, the mix of redemption between collection points and material recycling facilities, and the mix of packaging type.
Proposals for container deposit schemes in other territories and states are expected to follow during early 2018 in ACT, July 2018 in Queensland, and 2019 in Western Australia.
This article originally appeared in Food & Beverage Industry News.