More than five million containers have been returned and recycled in the first week of Queensland’s Containers for Change container deposit scheme.
As part of the scheme, Queenslanders are able to get 10 cents back for returning bottles and cans across one of the schemes 230 sites.
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The scheme uses a mixture of over the counter depots, reverse vending machines, mobile and pop up refund points and drop off points.
Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said that more than half a million dollars have gone back towards Queenslanders or charities and community groups because of the scheme.
“We’ve also seen some great recycling happening in regional areas. More than 780,000 containers have been returned in Wide Bay, and more than 770,000 in Townsville,” Ms Enoch said.
“Queenslanders use nearly three billion containers a year, and sadly they are the most commonly littered item in the environment.
“This scheme has created about 500 new jobs, with people starting work at container refund points across the state,” she said.
Container Exchange (CoEx) is the company responsible for implementing and managing the scheme.
CoEx CEO Ken Noye said it was great to see more than five million containers recycled in a week.
“People are able to support local community groups by donating their containers and we encourage social purpose organisations to sign up for the scheme,” Mr Noye said.
“We also now have 27,000 people signed up with a scheme ID, allowing them to be paid their refund straight into their bank account.
“We’d love to see communities get behind Containers for Change to raise funds for schools, sporting clubs and other not-for-profits,” he said.