Time to Supercharge The Container Deposit Scheme
Raise the refund. Expand the scheme. Build a cleaner, fairer system for all.
Australia’s Container Deposit schemes have already made a huge impact. But they’ve stalled, and it’s time to raise the bar.
We’re calling on all governments to:
- Increase the refund from 10c to 20c per container
- Include wine and spirits bottles in every state and territory and investigate other containers
- Expand refund point convenience for the community, ensuring equitable access for all.
Why? Because higher refunds mean higher return rates, cleaner streets, more recycling back into containers, more green jobs, and more money back in your and charity pockets.
The Problem
The value of the 10c refund has eroded with inflation. When the schemes began 10c meant something. Today, it’s worth closer to 6.5c.
Return rates are plateauing and will start declining. And billions of valuable containers are still ending up in landfills, littering our environment and costing households every year.
Meanwhile, glass wine and spirits bottles, some of the heaviest and most resource-intensive containers, are excluded in many states, despite strong public support for their inclusion. Other non-beverage containers could also become part of the scheme and join the circular economy.
The Solution
A 20c refund could get us to a 90% return rate, in line with global best practice.
More returns mean:
- Fewer containers in landfills or our waterways
- Increased income opportunities for community groups, charities and people doing it tough
- More clean materials are available for bottle-to-bottle recycling
- More jobs in recycling and logistics—an estimated 11.6% increase
It’s a simple upgrade with massive impact. And the public is behind it:
- 85% of people support increasing the refund
- 84% said they’d participate more if the refund went up to 20c
- Over 60% say it will help with the cost of living
Across Australia, these schemes are already changing behaviour and reducing waste:
- NSW: Over 13 billion containers returned since 2017 = $1.3 billion back to the community and charities
- SA: 663 million containers returned last year = $66.3 million refunded
- QLD: Over 8 billion containers collected, recycling tripled and litter down 35%
- VIC: 628.2 million containers returned between Nov 2023 and June 2024 (year1)
This is only the beginning.
Let’s Not Waste the Moment
With all states and territories now with container refunds, Australia becomes the first continent to operate the scheme nationwide. But we can't stop at 10c. It’s time to build a true circular economy.
Help us drive change
References
Queensland Minister for Environment Statement 2024
TEC Victoria's Twelve-Month CDS Review 2025
Learn More About Cash for Containers Around Australia
>> See all our resources on Cash for Containers
A Brief Campaign History
Over the last 16 years, tens of thousands of people have helped our Cash for Containers campaign with letters to and meetings with MPs, signing petitions, media events and actions, community stalls and clean-ups; and we have lobbied governments; countered industry misinformation; and developed a best practice Container Deposit Scheme.
2004 – 05: National Packaging Covenant (NPC) is renewed. It was the weak industry alternative to regulation like a CDS. We fight for targets and succeed – but the NPC was never going to work. Ministers warned a CDS could be around the corner.
2008: WA election. The then ALP Government promises a CDS after a positive taskforce inquiry, but delays a commitment. However, they were voted out. The drinks industry runs an effective insiders and public campaign, threatening marginal seats.
Mid-2010: Environment ministers meet in Darwin under federal minister Peter Garrett and announce a national study… the first of three. Initially, it was into beverage containers including a CDS, but then got expanded to all litter – a common tactic to diminish the importance of container deposits.
February 2011: After a brave campaign by the local community – with our participation – the NT Parliament unanimously passes its CDS law.
January 2012: The NT CDS is implemented.
December 2012: Coca Cola, Lion and Schweppes challenges the NT law in the Federal Court (surely one of the most unpopular corporate actions in recent years).
February 2013: Queensland signs up to the National Bin Network – the industry’s latest alternative to a CDS – the day before environment ministers meet to discuss a national regulatory impact statement into options to deal with beverage and other litter. Despite this potentially fatal move by Queensland and the industry, the ministers still proceed to the formal review process of a broad range of options including a CDS.
March 2013: Coca Cola win in the Federal Court and cancel their participation in the scheme, hoping it will collapse. However, the NT Government financially backs the CDS by supplying redeemed deposits/handling fees as they seek to remedy the process flaw in the law and obtain mutual recognition from all the other states. Once achieved, there is a full restart in August 2013.
Mid-2013: Vic Premier Napthine endorses a national CDS and keeps pushing over the year – the possibility of joint NSW/Vic action emerges.
November 2014: As the Vic election gets close, Napthine loses courage, no doubt in the face of bad polls and industry threats to campaign on the (alleged) consumer cost of a CDS. Also the Commonwealth government ignores calls for national scheme.
However, we don’t give up! We push on – now fully focussed on getting state-by-state adoption of CDS with the Commonwealth path now deemed fruitless.
January 2015: QLD election, an ALP minority government is elected and implements its policy to investigate a CDS. LNP Opposition gives bipartisan support in 2016.
February 2015: Premier Baird announces his election policy to implement a container deposit system by 1 July 2017. ALP Opposition give bipartisan support.
April 2016: The Senate Inquiry into Marine Plastic reports endorses our solutions including demanding all states have a CDS by 2020 – otherwise the federal government should do it for them.
May 2016: We win in NSW with the NSW Government announcing a full scale CDS covering plastic, glass, LPB (liquid paper-board) and metal drink containers.
June 2016: The QLD Government announces it will start a CDS in 2018, harmonising with NSW.
August 2016: WA Government announced it will implement a CDS.
September 2016: The ACT Government announces that the ACT CDS will commence early 2018.
February 2017: The NSW Government delays the NSW CDS from June 2017 to December 2017.
September 2017: QLD Parliament unanimously passes the Waste Reduction and Recycling Amendment Bill, legislating a Container Refund Scheme (CRS) to be introduced into QLD (it starts November 2018). The bill also contained a best practise plastic bag ban (starts July 2018).
December 2017: The NSW CDS, ‘Return and Earn’, begins.
November 2018: The QLD CRS, ‘Containers for Change', begins.
December 2018: The NSW CDS reaches its first birthday and a milestone of 1 billion containers redeemed. Boomerang Alliance releases its report into the first year of operations, which can be downloaded by clicking HERE.
March 2019: The WA legislation passes parliament with the CDS to start in early 2020.
June 2019: Tasmania announces it will have a CDS by 2022.
February 2020: Victoria announces it will have a CDS by 2023. Legislation is passed in 2021.
November 2021: Tasmanian ALP are lobbied by TasRecycle lobby group (which was established and funded by Coke and Lion) and they call for an Upper House Enquiry into the Container Refund Bill. BA calls this a monumental waste of time and successfully lobbies against it in early 2022.
March 2022: Tasmanian Parliament passed its Container Refund Law and is planning to introduce the scheme in 2023. A last ditch effort by Coke to amend the Bill and stymie recycling and litter gains was successfully opposed.
2022: The Victorian and Tasmanian governments issued EOIs for the Scheme Coordinator and Network Operator which will then lead to a call for formal tenders. Vic operations begin on 1 November 2023.