11 June 2018

Container Deposit Scheme return points to be at charity shopfronts

| Ian Bushnell
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Around 200 million eligible containers are sold each year in the ACT, but only around 30 per cent are being recycled.

A bulk depot site will be available at 151 Gladstone Street in Fyshwick for those wanting to return more than 500 containers at a time but the other four sites will be St Vincent de Paul at Belconnen, Dickson and Greenway, and the Salvation Army at Fyshwick.

The ACT Government said that the number of return points across the ACT would increase over coming months, and be located at charity shop fronts or at larger bulk return depots, with residents able to choose to collect the refund themselves or donate the funds to charity.

Minister for Transport and City Services Meegan Fitzharris said the use of charity shopfronts is a key part of the Government’s approach to the CDS in Canberra, with people able to donate their refund, receive cash, or have the money transferred to their bank account.

“The social enterprise model will also create new employment opportunities for Canberrans, as well as raising funds to provide services and support for those in the community who need it most,” the Minister said.

She said that by July 2019 there would be 18 return points in operation across the ACT.

The return points are:

  • Vinnies Belconnen, corner of Rae and Purdue Streets, Belconnen
  • Vinnies Dickson, 1/9 Woolley Street, Dickson
  • Vinnies Tuggeranong, corner of Pittman Street and Athllon Drive, Greenway
  • Salvos Fyshwick, 15 Mildura Street, Fyshwick
  • Fyshwick Bulk Depot, 151 Gladstone Street, Fyshwick (for more than 500 items)

The Government believes that the CDS makes the industry responsible for the products they make, promotes recovery, reuse and recycling of eligible containers, and reduces litter and the number of containers going to landfill.

Around 200 million eligible containers are sold each year in the ACT, but only around 30 per cent are being recycled.

Ms Fitzharris encouraged local community, charity and sporting groups to use the opportunity to raise funds, and extended an invitation for all Canberrans to attend a community information session to find out how to get involved.

Residents can download a fundraising toolkit, or register online to attend the community information session from 6pm, 13 June 2018 at the Canberra Southern Cross Club, Woden

More information is available online at www.actcds.com.au.

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Capital Retro1:38 pm 15 Jun 18

South Australia has a container refund scheme for 30 years.

A lot of South Australians take recycling very seriously to the point that they drink our recycled urine too.

Capital Retro10:10 pm 14 Jun 18

Deposit schemes only work with glass bottles that are washed and used again. This is not the same as single use plastic/metal and then recycling when there is a market for them.

There are millions of recycled containers baled and stored away that will never be recycled.

They should integrate this with light rail. Stage 4 should be built, leading to a super-express collection point at the border with NSW. With light rail service to the collection point once an hour.

Absolutely *LOVE* how ACT Govt managed to screw up something so simple. Must have clear plastic bags, must have an e-account and a bank account, must leave containers with the charity for five days, must manage disputes over how many containers were acceptable…

Could Fitzharris have made this any more complicated? Almost as if they’re banking on it falling over in this form…

The retailers are scoring a multimillion dollar windfall – 10c for every bottle that isn’t recycled. Why would they facilitate returns?

This will worry no one but those too lazy to recycle them. Personally, I rarely drink fizzy drink (I last bought one, I’m guessing, more than a couple of years ago. Likely more.), and I don’t drink bottled water in this country. I fill my own bottle and carry it. I recently drove up to northern SA and on to the NT, and it’s bore water there, so I filled bottles of water before I went there. No need to buy water and the plastic packaging. I refilled in places where the water was okay.

I see bottles sprinkled about the countryside, by the couldn’t care less, lazy crowd, and anything to give people an incentive to go collect them and clean up after the lazy bas.. is worth while. Recently in South Australia I saw a man riding a bike with a trailer laden with collected plastic bottles, and he was looking for more. Putting a value on the bottles encourages this behaviour.

They should apply the same scheme to coffee cups. However such a scheme will never work as it would affect MLAs

Capital Retro8:51 am 12 Jun 18

I gave up drinking soda pop years ago and “bottled water” to me means an old, resusable glass bottle filled with Canberra’s “first crush” world’s best water.

I now feel marginalised because I will be excluded form this “feel-good” experience. If I had a Facebook or Twitter thingee I would be really complaining.

Similar to me. I left fizzy drinks behind in childhood, and even then they were a special treat, not an everyday thing. Those days though, the bottles were glass, we got paid for them and they were washed and reused. Buying bottled water in Canberra (or most of Australia) is a really dumb thing. No wonder some people then complain they are poor.

Will the items need to be in perfect condition?

Welcome to 1950s australia.

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