Should the rest of Australia establish a bottle deposit scheme?

A container deposit scheme is a smart way to ensure containers such as cans, plastic and glass bottles get recycled. Firstly we can all try to reduce the amount of containers we purchase (for example, always having a reusable water bottle). But container litter has a huge environmental and even financial cost for Australia.

Read more: The Do's and Don'ts of recycling plastic

For people in South Australia, a CDS (Container Deposit Scheme) has been around for 30 years and has been known to reduce this kind of litter by up to 85%. We can all see the info on a Coke bottle - a 10c deposit that can be redeemed by South Australian's and Northern Territorians. What a great incentive - kids collecting dozens of cans and bottles for pocket money for themselves or their Scout or BMX groups. Imagine the same in New South Wales: a walk along the beach after a sunny day at Bondi collecting containers would mean quite a few dollars in your pocket instead of washing out to sea. The revenue after a Concert in the Domain would be in the hundreds of dollars. And of course, everything gets recycled and turned into new products.

Image: The Bondi Responsible Runners clean up the beach

Right now the State Government of New South Wales is looking at a discussion paper with recommendations for a CDS. Mike Baird has committed to bringing in a scheme by July 2017.

So what's the problem? There are two schemes on the cards. One has the financial incentive of a 10c refund through reverse vending machines widely located throughout the community, which has already been proven elsewhere to be extremely effective. The other is put forward by the beverage industry and does not offer an immediate financial incentive. This scheme involves hiring people to clean up litter on highways and recycling opportunities that will benefit charities.

This sounds good too, so why do environmental activism groups prefer the first option? Well, 1 Million Women followers are committed to recycling but it's the litterbugs that need to change their behaviour. A 10c refund is enough of a financial incentive to increase recycling significantly. The long running scheme in South Australia is proof.

Image: Boomerang Alliance

So why does the beverage industry prefer a non-financial incentive? They have concerns about profit loss. If the scheme is not in every state then there is the possibility of containers bought in, say, Victoria (where the deposit has not been reflected in the price) being recycled in NSW with the benefit of a 10c refund. Retailers may even transport wholesale goods interstate to avoid the extra cost. A national scheme would obviously negate this risk.

Time is running out and New South Wales residents can make a comment now on the discussion paper but only until February 26. Let's ensure that we have the world's best practice scheme in place here. Let your local MP know how you feel and add your name to the Boomerang Alliance petition.

Read this next: Six brilliant ways that Sweden recycles garbage

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