FEATURED TOPIC – CONTAINER DEPOSIT SCHEMES
Partners for change QUEENSLAND’S CONTAINERS FOR CHANGE SCHEME IS BOLSTERING ITS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT AND LOCAL CHARITIES.
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housands of empty drink containers disposed of in Queensland shopping centres each year are helping turn trash into cash for housing and emergency relief. Queensland’s Containers for Change scheme is partnering with AMP Capital to recycle empty drink containers in their Queensland shopping centres and donate the refunds to local charities, clubs and community groups. Indooroopilly Shopping Centre was one of the first to join the Partners for Change initiative and collected more than $1200 in the first month for local charity Communify QLD, which provides support services to people living within the inner western suburbs of Brisbane. The donations were used to provide back-to-school kits for disadvantaged children. Ken Noye, Chief Executive of Container Exchange, a not-forprofit organisation that runs the Containers for Change scheme, says the partnership is a win-win for the environment and the community. “Recycling containers is a job for everyone and this initiative, in partnership with shopping centres, allows customers to ensure their containers are disposed of correctly while they are shopping,” Ken says. “Customers doing their regular shopping can now easily recycle eligible containers through these bins in convenient locations, providing a benefit to the natural environment and supporting the local groups making changes in the community. Customers will know their recycling is making a
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The partnership aims to collect more recyclable containers from shoppers “on-the-go”.
direct, positive impact on groups in their local area.” Containers for Change has a variety of container refund points across Queensland and Western Australia and aims to empower individuals, groups and charities to “be the change” and help reduce the number of recyclable containers ending up in landfill. As part of the Partners for Change initiative, TOMRA reverse vending machines have been set up as donation stations in high-traffic areas, such as
shopping centre food courts, to target on-the-go consumables such as soft drinks and water bottles. The machine allows shoppers to donate the 10 cent container refund directly to the charity, which is identified on the machine’s interface. TOMRA provided the shopping centre donation stations free of charge, including facilitating the install of the machines, as part of its ongoing industry partnership with Containers for Change.
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