In August 2016 and after a long campaign by community groups and Boomerang battling the big bottlers, the Western Australian Government under the then Liberal Premier, Colin Barnett announced that it would commit to a container deposit scheme. In September 2017, after an election, the WA Government, under new ALP Premier Mark McGowan confirmed that the WA CDS would indeed go ahead and that it was scheduled to commence in January 2019.

In light of the implementation of a state-wide ban on lightweight plastic shopping bags and acknowledgement of the criticisms arising from a short implementation period for the NSW CDS in 2017, a decision was taken by the McGowan government to delay the establishment of the scheme until early 2020, to allow adequate time to plan and implement the scheme effectively across Australia’s largest state.

Legislation to establish the scheme – The Waste Avoidance Resource Recovery Amendment (Container Deposit) Bill 2018 – was passed in the WA Parliament in March, 2019, after public consultation that received more than 3000 submissions and demonstrated an overwhelming level of public support for the scheme.

The WA Government estimates that over a 20-year period, the scheme will prevent more than 700 million beverage containers from entering the litter stream and almost 6 billion containers from being sent to landfill, with a net positive benefit to the WA economy of more than $150 million. It is also anticipated that the scheme will create around 500 jobs in support of the infrastructure and processing frameworks that will emerge as the scheme gets underway.

The scheme began in October 2020 and Boomerang Alliance will review the progress of the scheme in particular consumer access for refunds and recycling rates in coming years.

For more information about the WA CDS: https://www.containersforchange.com.au/wa/

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This page was last updated on 19 April 2022.

The South Australian Container Deposit Scheme is the legacy Australian scheme, having commenced in 1977. Collecting more than 600 million containers each year, the South Australian scheme received a National Trust Heritage Icon Award in 2017. The award recognised the positive impact that the scheme has had in reducing litter and conserving the state’s environment over its 40 years of operation.

The ongoing benefits of the scheme are readily apparent. SA reports that beverage containers make up less than 3% of the state’s litter stream, which represents the lowest percentage in any Australian state. The SA Environment Protection Authority reports a return rate of 76% for eligible beverage containers. In addition, the scheme proudly boasts a long history of supporting charities and community groups like the SA Scouting Association, which have benefited significantly from revenue received in the form of refunds donated by the SA community over many years.

The scheme is undergoing a comprehensive review including governance and expanding eligible containers.  See the 2019 review here.  A final decision is yet to be made.

For more information about the SA CDS

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This page was last updated on 25 March 2019

The ACT Government announced in September 2016 that they would introduce a Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) in early 2018 to reduce litter, recover eligible containers, increase the recycling rates of used beverage containers and help engage the community in active and positive recycling behaviours.

The scheme was officially launched on June 30th, 2018 and reported the collection of more than 450,000 containers in the first month of operation, equating to more than $45,000 in refunds paid out.

The ACT scheme is operated through a combination of Bag Drop and Go locations for returns of up to 500 containers, and Bulk Depots which can handle the return of more than 500 containers at a time. The return points are operated by charities including Vinnies, the Salvos and Anglicare, which benefit through the receipt of deposits donated by the ACT community, as well as driving increased shopper traffic to the charities’ stores and helping to increase sales revenue.

The scheme has also provided a great social enterprise model, providing employment opportunities for people with disabilities under the NDIS, through organisations such as LEAD and Sharing Places.

The materials being collected through the ACT CDS are also finding uses. Glass, plastics and other recyclables are being combined into a new road surfacing material called Reconophalt, which is being trialled in road projects around Canberra.

For a full list of returns points in the ACT, visit the ACT CDS website: https://actcds.com.au/return-points/

The ACT CDS is administered by the ACT Government under the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Amendment ACT 2017 and the Waste Management and Resource Recovery (Container Deposit Scheme) Amendment Regulation 2018 (No 1)

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This page was last updated on 25 March 2019

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.

The next few weeks are critical for increasing community pressure on the three states that are yet to commit to a ban on single use plastic bags before the annual environment ministers meeting held at the end of June.

We need your continued support to help increase community pressure on New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria to ensure that all Australian states commit to a ban.  As part of our accelerating campaign in the runup to the meeting:

Please join the Twitter Storm on Tuesday 23 May (World Turtle Day) from 12pm till 1pm AEST.

A twitter storm is a tweet event where many people post at the same time on a topic using a designated hashtag in order to make the hashtag trend. This will be noticed by the state Premiers and also help spread the message through social media.

Please do not 'retweet' but instead copy/paste the suggested tweets or make up your own with #BanTheBag and #NoMoreExcuses hashtags and @GladysB @MarkMcGowanMP and @DanielAndrewsMP. You can also attach pictures on littered bags.

The suggested tweets are:

The community is ready. Australia needs to #BanTheBag #NoMoreExcuses @GladysB @MarkMcGowanMP @DanielAndrewsMP

Australia needs to #BanTheBag #NoMoreExcuses @GladysB @MarkMcGowanMP @DanielAndrewsMP

We need to protect our oceans! It's time to #BanTheBag #NoMoreExcuses @GladysB @MarkMcGowanMP @DanielAndrewsMP

#NoMoreExcuses @GladysB @MarkMcGowanMP @DanielAndrewsMP We demand a ban on plastic bags! #BanTheBag

#NoMoreExcuses @GladysB @MarkMcGowanMP @DanielAndrewsMP Stop killing our oceans! It's time to #BanTheBag

Do the right thing @GladysB @MarkMcGowanMP @DanielAndrewsMP #NoMoreExcuses #BanTheBag

Step up and #BanTheBag @GladysB @MarkMcGowanMP @DanielAndrewsMP #NoMoreExcuses

Plastic kills – help protect our oceans now! It's time to #BanTheBag #NoMoreExcuses @GladysB @MarkMcGowanMP @DanielAndrewsMP

Don't pass the buck @GladysB @MarkMcGowanMP @DanielAndrewsMP #BanTheBag

We need to ensure our oceans have a voice!

The next couple of months are critical for increasing political pressure to achieve a ban on plastic bags. 

Plastic bags are only used for 12 minutes on average before they are thrown away! Many of them end up in our oceans and have deadly consequences for marine life for hundreds of years. It's time NSW, VIC and WA banned the bag!

We just can't afford to wait any longer and we have all the information we need to justify a ban. Four states have already phased out plastic bags, with QLD joining just recently. The upcoming environment ministers meeting in June 2017 is a key moment to put pressure on the current NSW, VIC & WA Government. The time to act is now!

You have the power to make a positive difference for our oceans and marine life and to engage with a topic you are passionate about. Your contribution would be an important part of our push on plastic bags in the coming weeks.

To help our oceans and make our message be heard add your voice today:

1. Email the Premier, Environment Minister and Opposition Leader in NSW, VIC & WA, explaining why you care and why this issue is important to you is the most effective tool of advocacy.

2. Send a letter to your local paper asking for a ban on single use lightweight plastic bags.

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

Convenience and information, is it really that difficult?
Big Supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths have decided not to provide space for convenient container redemption.

We recently conducted a survey asking you what you thought of the current NSW CDS draft. You told us that you want convenience and agreed that retailers should provide space and information for redeeming your containers.

With the finish line in sight, let these supermarket giants know that you will feel robbed if you cannot redeem your containers while on a shopping trip!