| Name of Program |
Waste Management and Resource Recovery Amendment Bill 2017 |
| Law Summary |
"Objects of the bill are-
(a) establish a cost effective container deposit scheme to assist the beverage industry in reducing and dealing with waste generated by beverage product packaging; and (b) promote the recovery, reuse and recycling of empty beverage containers." [1] |
| Date Implemented | June 30, 2018 |
| Beverages Covered |
Beverages in the following containers that are ≥150mL or ≤3L [2]:
|
|
Beverages Not Covered |
|
| Amount of Deposit |
10¢ AUD |
| Fees and Taxes |
Beverage suppliers pay EFC administrative costs, a "network fee" for the Network Operator, and a "Compliance fee", which change monthly. This is sent out in the EFC's monthly Supplier Newsletters. [3] |
| Unclaimed Deposts | N/A; producers are charged a "producer fee" based on the number of containers returned versus revenue generated from the sale of material. [4] |
| Program Success |
A majority of containers in this territory are returned through curbside return programs, with 45 million of the overall 72 million containers deposited in the 2018-2019 returned through curbside pick-up. Only 27 million container were returned through return points for redemption or donation to charities. 2018-2019 [4]:
|
More Information
The ACT CDS operates as a ‘partnership’ between the Government and the beverage container industry:
- The Scheme Coordinator, Exchange for Change, manages scheme finances and auditing.
- The Network Operator, Re.Turn It, manages the network of collection points. There is currently only one Network Operator, although other operators are not precluded from the ACT CDS.
- Government, manages compliance with the legislation along with instruments and documents made within the legislative framework. [6]
The collection network is predominantly manual depot-based, with a government preference for ‘face-to-face’ drop off facilities, replicating the South Australian scheme, as well as charity sector shop drop offs and other social enterprise involvement. There are currently 21 collection points, with three being depots with cash refunds for consumers. Two of these depots have automated counting. The other 19 collection points are "bag-drop" collection points, supermarkets, a community group, and charity stores. Curbside redemption is also eligible, with the 10-cent refund shared between the government and the Material Recovery Facility operator.
Consumers may leave eligible containers as part of their general curbside recycling; if they do so, material recovery facility (MRF) operators may make a claim for the 10¢ refund for each container collected through curbside collection bins. MRF operators are audited by Exchange for Change at least quarterly.
The ACT curbside programs are highly successful. In the 2018-2019 cycle, 144 million bottles were sold in the territory, with 72 million containers returned. 45 million of those returned containers were returned through curbside return programs, while 27 million are returned through drop-off collection points or charity stores.
Footnotes
[1] Waste Management and Resource Recovery Amendment Bill 2017 (ACT).
[2] "Eligible Containers." ACT Container Deposit Scheme.
[3] "Scheme Payments and Contribution Methodology." Exchange for Change AU. 2016.
[4] "Global Deposit Book 2020: An Overview of Deposit Systems for One-Way Beverage Containers." Reloop Inc. 15 December 2020.
[5] 2018-19 ACT CDS Annual Statutory Report. Exchange for Change AU. 2019
[6] Personal communication from Alex Taylor, Director of Waste Regulation, Australian Capital Territory Government, 20 January 2020.
Last updated on 08 January 2021.