The New South Wales Government is planning to expand its Return and Earn container deposit scheme to include glass wine and spirits bottles, and larger containers.
Minister for Environment James Griffin said public consultation was now open on the planned expansion, which would enable up to an additional 400 million containers to be recycled each year, including 233 million glass bottles.
“We already accept beer, cider, and a range of other beverage containers through Return and Earn, and now we are looking to include glass wine and spirit bottles and larger drink containers,” he said.
“Return and Earn began as a litter reduction tool, and since then, it’s become incredibly popular with almost 80 per cent of adults in NSW having used the scheme, which has more than 620 return points across the state.”
According to Griffin, since the scheme began in 2017, it has collected more than eight billion containers, delivered $800 million in refunds, $35 million in donations to community groups and charities, and helped reduce drink container litter by 52 per cent.
Return and Earn currently accepts drink containers such as cans, beer and mixer bottles, cartons, juice boxes and poppers.
Consultation is now open on the scheme’s expansion, which would allow collection of almost all beverage containers between 150 millilitres and three litres.
This would include glass wine and spirits bottles, cordial and juice concentrate bottles, and containers up to three litres for beverages already accepted in the scheme, such as flavoured milk, fruit and vegetable juice, cask wine and sachets.
Plain milk and health tonics would continue to be excluded.
The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority will hold targeted stakeholder information sessions and webinars in the coming months around the state to help streamline the transition for new suppliers to the scheme.
Consultations are open until 2 December 2022.
For more information, or to have your say, visit: www.yoursay.epa.nsw.gov.au
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