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

The Northern Territory’s Container Deposit Scheme was initially implemented in January 2012, but the scheme’s introduction wasn’t all smooth sailing. Despite some 35 million containers being collected in the first 12 months, beverage companies including, Coca Cola, Lion and Schweppes, mounted a legal challenge against the scheme in December 2012. The beverage producers argued that the NT CDS contravened the Commonwealth Mutual Recognition Act, which seeks to ensure that products and services provided in Australian states and territories are done so under consistent conditions.

In March 2013, the beverage suppliers won the court battle on procedural grounds and the scheme ceased operation much to the disgust of the community. Activist group ‘Out of Order’ responded by placing 'Out of Order' signs on Coca Cola Amatil vending machines in capital cities across Australia, seeking to deliver a blow to drink sales nationwide for a brief period.

The NT Government, however, was determined to continue the fight and covered the cost of deposits to keep the scheme in action, while launching an appeal through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). Ultimately, the Federal Executive Council (ExCo) took the appropriate remedial action and the NT scheme was reinstated in August 2013, forcing the beverage companies to resume the repayment of deposits on eligible containers.

While the impost of the NT CDS on the beverage companies was relatively small, it is believed that the court action in the NT was designed to demonstrate the financial power of the beverage manufacturers in the hope of discouraging other jurisdictions from considering implementation of similar schemes.

Thankfully, the NT Government held its ground and placed environmental concerns ahead of big business pressure. The NT CDS continues to grow in popularity, having reached more than 84% returns in the 2018-19 financial year – a massive increase on the previous very low recycling rate.  See the regular reports.

The NT scheme is administered by the NT Environment Protection Agency under the Environment Protection (Beverage Containers and Plastic Bags) Act 2011.  It is now being reviewed by the government including expanding the scope of eligible containers such as wine and spirits and plain milk.

For more information about the NT CDS and collection depots: https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/your-environment/container-deposit-scheme/collection-depots

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This page was last updated on 25 March 2019

• Reverse Vending Machines, located in convenient places all over NSW; 
• Over the Counter Collection Points, including local convenience stores and cafes, 
• Automated Depots where families, individuals, community groups, sports clubs etc can take a boot load, trailer load or just a big bag.  

You can check out the location of these collection points here. More are being added and you can still register to be a collection point or host a Reverse Vending Machine. So if you want more locations near you, get out and talk to potential site owners and email [email protected] to register your interest.

If you have noticed an unreasonable price increase on your favourite beverages since the scheme began (eg: above 15c per container) we would encourage you to refer your observation to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART)  

Also Return and Earn has created over 700 jobs and millions of dollars of investment in new infrastructure.  New plastic bottle to bottle and expanded glass recycled content plants using the collected containers are now being built on the back of the scheme's success.

We've compiled a list of the questions we get asked most often. If you are still unclear about Return and Earn please fell free to contact us.

Sure, it’s been a slightly bumpy road but the teething problems have been ironed out and the results have demonstrated that it’s worth the effort. NSW already has a much cleaner environment, with far fewer bottles and containers finding their way into the litter stream. We have charities and social enterprises that are earning vital revenue through donated deposits and we have significantly reduced the quantity of plastic container that have found their way to the ocean – what’s not to love?

Your frequently asked questions answered here!

More information about the NSW CDS

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This page was last updated on 25 March 2019

The conservative Qld government had rejected container deposits and the community campaign for many years and was a key proponent of the weak alternatives proposed by the beverage companies such as Coke and Lion.  The surprise election of an ALP government in 2015 with a policy to implement the scheme was the turning point.  

On September 5th 2017, we welcomed the unanimous passage of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Amendment Bill through the Queensland Parliament, which confirmed a Container Refund Scheme (CRS).

This policy represents the most significant litter and plastic pollution measures introduced into Queensland in generations. It's a great leap forward for litter reduction, recycling and collection (and the jobs that go with this) and for community organisations who can make money from collecting bottles and cans.

The Queensland Scheme is called 'Containers for Change' and is operated by Container Exchange, a not-for-profit entity set up by the beverage industry. You can learn more about how the scheme works, find where you can redeem containers and which containers are eligible, and how you can get involved at the Containers for Change website.

The scheme has had some problems with sufficient effective refund points for consumers and the return rate is languishing around 60% - failing to meet its 2022 target of 85%.  Boomerang and TEC issued a Health Report in 2020 and will be reviewing the scheme again in 2022. 

Your hard work is paying off! NSW, QLD, ACT and WA all have committed to introduce a deposit scheme on bottles and cans in the years to come. We now need your support to get Victoria to join them. It doesn't matter if you live in another state, taking action today will help protect our wonderful oceans and clean up Australia.

We are welcoming the change to the start date of the NSW Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) to the 1st of December 2017 as good policy and congratulated the government on listening to the many requests for more time to rollout a better serviced scheme.

The Baird government’s signature environment protection policy – the container deposits scheme (CDS) – risks failing consumers on day 1, because the legislation did not establish sufficient convenient sites to collect drink containers and give refunds.

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