February 2018

After just two months, the NSW container deposit scheme is already collecting over 1.5 million containers a day. As the rest of Australia follows suit in coming months, Victoria will soon be the only mainland state without a 10 cents container refund scheme.

Plastic bottles can travel in currents for thousands of kilometres. We need container deposit schemes across Australia and we are going on a tour across Victoria with a 3m long Coke bottle in tow, calling for a 10 cent refundable deposit on bottles and cans. It will help reduce litter, increase recycling rates, decrease the contamination rate and provide great fundraising opportunities for charity and community groups, especially in regional areas.

We will travel around 2,000 km over 2 weeks. From Melbourne to Port Fairy, up to Mildura, across to Wodonga and back via Bendigo and Ballarat, passing through a host of other towns along our route. We'll talk at schools and connect with the charity and community groups that will most benefit from this scheme. We'll organise roadside clean-ups, throwing the containers we find along the way into the big bottle. At the end of the journey, we will deliver the contents of the big bottle to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' office.

We have contacted MPs in each of the electorates to arrange a meeting, some have expressed interest, some have declined - call them and ask them to meet with us!

• Stawell: Louise Staley - (03) 5461 1255
• Warnambool & Port Fairy: Roma Britnell - (03) 5562 8230
• Horsham: Emma Kealy - (03) 5382 0097
• Mildura: Peter Crisp - (03) 5021 2828
• Echuca: Peter Walsh - (03) 5482 2039
• Wangaratta: Timothy McCurdy - (03) 5721 6155
• Beechworth & Yackandandah: William Tilley - (02) 6009 0808
• Bendigo: Jacinta Allan - (03) 5443 2144
• Castlemaine: Maree Edwards - (03) 5444 4125 (meeting confirmed)
• Ballarat: Sharon Knight - (03) 5331 1003

With your help we can get drink containers out of landfill and our waterways, and put money into the pockets of our charities and community groups! Come and say hi if - honk your horns if you see us! Here is our itinerary:

Actions and activities in each town are shaping up. Follow the shenanigans and latest news of the Big Bottle below and see how fast we are filling the Big Bottle with containers found alongside the roads.

> Visit the Big Bottle blog page

THE BIG BOTTLE IN THE MEDIA

• The Stawell Times: A three-metre long coke bottle visited Stawell on Saturday
• Waste Management Review: Big Bottle Tour of regional Victoria for container deposit scheme
• The Standard: Boomerang Alliance brings big bottle to city
• ABC South West Victoria
• Good Will Nurdle Hunting
• ABC Mildura Facebook post
• ABC Mildura: Giant soft drink bottle tours Victoria to push for container deposit scheme
• Triple M Sunraysia
• Mildura Weekly: Strong local call for Victorian CDS (newspaper)
• Mildura Weekly: Strong local call for Victorian CDS (online)
• EMFM Radio, Echuca
• Riverine Herald: Recyclers rolled into town to sell deposits
• Sunraysia Daily: Cents in can scheme
• The Border Mail: Giant bottle touring Victoria as part of push for Garden State to follow NSW and introduce container deposit scheme
• Illawara Mercury: Albury supermarket owner upbeat about compensation for container scheme as giant bottle visits Beechworth as part of campaign
• The Border Mail: Positive spin of bottle
• Ovens & Murray Advertiser: Can cash make cents
• Ovens & Murray Advertiser: Big Bottle Tour hits the road
• 94.9 Main FM, Bendigo
• Bendigo Advertiser: The Boomerang Alliance's The Big Bottle Tour arrives in Bendigo to promote Container Deposit Schemes
• Triple M Bendigo
• WIN News Bendigo Facebook post
• WIN News Bendigo: Giant inflatable bottle
• Nine News
• Midland Express: Get plogging! Cash for cans and soft plastics
• ABC Radio Ballarat
• The Courier: Big bottle on tour for cash for containers push
• No Waste Ballarat: Guest speaker at movie screening Baykeepers
• Power 103.1 FM: Big Bottle Tour arrives in Ballarat
• Corporate Waste Solutions: Drumming up support for a Container Deposit Scheme
• WIN News Ballarat: Big Bottle

We are on the road! "We" is myself and Travis from "Our Wonderful Country Clean Up Project". Travis offered his time, ute and services for this tour and we think he's an absolute legend! 

This whole campaign wouldn't be possible without the many donations and kind support we have received from so many Victorians! For instance, Ross and Ramona from Beach Patrol housed the Big Bottle over the last couple of months. They know how many drink containers are littered and they are tired of picking them up during their clean-ups. They are keen supporters of the Big Bottle tour because they know that Container Refund Schemes work.

I'm excited about this tour and I hope to take you guys with me - via this blog, by telling you about the people we'll meet, the issues and fun bits we'll encounter. Plenty of container litter on the A8, but we are on a mission to Stawell. Come and say hi to us tomorrow at the Stawell Street Festival!

Annett & The Big Bottle

> Go back to the Big Bottle Tour Blog

Wow! In less than 3 months over 100 million containers have been collected by Return and Earn!  And as we predicted they are finding markets because they are of high quality and not contaminated. 

Many will have seen the hyper-criticism by some media outlets of short term issues being experienced by the NSW container deposit scheme - but it's unjustified.

Yes there are issues like the slower than planned rollout of collection points.  However, every such scheme in the world has a ramp up period and it takes time for financially viable infrastructure to be put in place and for the community to adapt. We reject the hyper critical media commentators and some in the beverage industry who aren’t interested in a proven program being given time to sort out our serious recycling and litter problems.

New collection points are being opened every week and it’s very gratifying that the community wants more. As for the alleged consumer rip-off, the arrangements are no different to what occurs in South Australia - returns are projected; advance payment made by bottlers; and in the next quarter adjustments are made according to actual returns. Many bottlers then reduce their prices if there was overpayment. As the system settles in projections become more accurate. The initial agreed prices are to be reviewed after February.

The return rate for the first few months is close to what we predicted. It will gradually ramp up to about 80%. Return and Earn is a big, new program and NSW is the first state in Australia to bring in the modern, automated system that is necessary for our big cities and towns.  We are continuing to monitor the program and where necessary, suggesting improvements.

Victoria has now committed to a Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) to start by 2023. It needs to be the best scheme maximising recycling; with great convenience for consumers who want to redeem their 10cents; and a credible governance system.   

The Boomerang Alliance has joined forces with Victorian community organisations and groups to push for action. The Victorian government originally was defending inaction on CDS with questionable statistics on litter and recycling rates. We took actions to dispel myths, raise awareness and presented the true cost of inaction. 

NSWs 'Earn and Return' has collected over 5 billion containers in 36 months and increased recycling rates from 35% to over 70% under its ''split responsibility'' model with the independent Coordinator and Network Operator. This is supported by the Victorian government for the state's CDS. 

QLDs 'Containers For Change' which operates under the system favoured by Coca Cola has significant problems with inconvenient refund points; alleged fraud; and lower recycling rates.  Nevertheless, Coke and Lion have embarked on a campaign to reverse the government's position because they can make a profit from a poorly performing CDS by keeping consumer refunds.

NOW we need to win the battle for a CDS that works best for consumers and recycling.

SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO?

• Sign this letter to Lily D'Ambrosio thanking her for the CDS and maintaining her government's support for the BEST system.

• Sign up to our campaign and join us in clean-ups, media stunts and other actions

• Donate to our campaign

HOW DOES A CONTAINER DEPOSIT SCHEME WORK?

A container deposit scheme is based on a refundable deposit able to be redeemed by the consumer or collectors at convenient locations. In other words, people get cash for recycling their containers. There are over 40 such systems around the world including in South Australia, the Northern Territory, the ACT, NSW and Queensland. WA, Tasmania and Vic are planning to follow suit in 2020, 2022 and 2023, respectively. Enregistrer

Enregistrer

The pressure is on the three remaining states without a plastic bag ban to take action before the next Environment Ministers meeting end of June 2017. The next few weeks are critical for increasing the pressure on the NSW (Liberal), Victorian (Labor) and West Australian (Labor) Governments to implement a ban on single-use lightweight plastic bags.

Give the oceans a voice by sending them a personal email asking for a ban on bags, and explaining why you care. It doesn't have to be a long email, but please try to make it sound personal as it would have more weight. We need to show them that we really want to protect our oceans and precious marine life.

Tell them the community is ready to #banthebag. We have waited too long. No more excuses!

Add your personal message here explaining why this is important to you for single use lightweight plastic bags to be banned in NSW, VIC and WA.

In my view the immediate and effective policy response from State jurisdictions on plastic bags should be:

To ban all single use HDPE bags up to 70 microns. This ban should apply to all wholesalers, importers and retailers who provide these products to their customers both in shop and online, including all small business.

The ban should include all identified 'biodegradable and degradable' bags up to 70 microns (standards used in current laws for biodegradability/compostability do not prevent microplastic pollution – see below).

Specific purpose bags less than 70 microns such as barrier bags could be exempted, but only where there is a demonstrated health, food safety or fit-for-purpose reason and where no viable alternative exists. Any such exempted bags should be uncoloured and unbranded to avoid increased ingestion by marine life.

Ensure targeting of bait bags and ice cube bags which are usually used outdoors and represent a particular problem in the litter stream.

A transition period of 6 months should be established between an announcement and introduction of any bans, to allow for alternative arrangements and a public/retailer education program.

An effective penalty and resourced compliance regime.

A levy not be supported due to administrative complexity and the lack of long term impact.

An Intermediate Policy Response (a continuous improvement strategy) should be:

The establishment of an expert taskforce to review and report back to government within one year on recommended actions to restrict other forms of single use plastic packaging not included in the immediate policy. This review should include the identification of alternative products and practices to single use plastic packaging.

People just like you have built the Boomerang Alliance into a powerful force for change. Our efforts are making the difference that could save the environment for future generations to enjoy.

Sign up below to receive updates on our latest campaign actions, or volunteer with the Boomerang Alliance to help create the change we're working every day to achieve.