FEATURED TOPIC – CONTAINER DEPOSIT SCHEMES
Small change, a big difference RETURN AND EARN IS A PROVEN CONTAINER DEPOSIT SCHEME WITH HUNDREDS OF COLLECTION POINTS AROUND NEW SOUTH WALES. WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW LOOKS AT HOW THE NSW SCHEME IS SETTING THE BENCHMARK IN AUSTRALIA.
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t is well known that Container Deposit Schemes can generate significant environmental benefits – from less litter in parks and waterways to contributing to a circular economy. James Dorney, Chief Executive Officer of TOMRA Cleanaway, network operator of the NSW Return and Earn scheme, believes it has been a massive success on a number of measures. He says the NSW scheme, which was rolled out in December 2017, has experienced high levels of participation and return rates because it’s designed for convenience and ease of use. Many return points are automated and co-located with retail facilities or facilities that people visit in their normal course of business. “In Australia it is the accessibility and convenience of a scheme that supports the deposit value to help drive behaviour change and determine return rates” James says. “The NSW scheme is designed for a variety of return points and in particular, a large number of Reverse Vending Machines (RVM) co-located with supermarkets. Returning containers becomes part of normal activities, as people don’t have to go out of their way to access the scheme.”
The NSW Return and Earn scheme uses the latest technology.
Return and Earn is the largest litter reduction initiative introduced in New South Wales. The NSW Government initiative is delivered through a partnership model between the NSW Environment Protection Authority, scheme co-ordinator Exchange for Change and the network operated by joint partners TOMRA Collection Australia, which provides the Reverse Vending Machines, back-end data and IT platform, and Cleanaway, which handles collection and recycling of the containers. Danielle Smalley, CEO of Exchange for Change, says the scheme has become part of life in NSW in a relatively short amount of time. “The NSW community have well and truly embraced Return and Earn
with three out of four NSW adults having participated and more than 6.8 billion drink containers returned for recycling through the scheme’s return point network since its launch in 2017. “Return and Earn has also become an important fundraising channel for hundreds of community groups, schools and charities, particularly as other more traditional, face-toface methods have not been possible recently,” she says. In the 12 months from December 2020 to December 2021, 1.88 billion containers were tracked through the network. As well as offering a high level of convenience to consumers, the NSW scheme is highly-efficient, due to its
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