Why do only those in South Australia have access to a refund scheme when returning recyclable items? Why the hesitation from the other governments? Where can South Australian's take their bottles etc?

It's not too often we give our South Australian friends credit for a good idea, however this is one that aToMik Green proudly stands up and openly applauds. Being based in Victoria, so many times we have finished a drink bottle, looked at the label and been teased with the promise of "5c refund at collection depots when sold in S.A." What a bloody great idea! And the best thing is... it works. First established in 1975, the program boasted that South Australia's glass and plastic beer and soft drink bottles recovery was 200% greater than those of other states. It was so successful that the scheme was expanded to cover more areas in 2003. The next year the EPA released a quite detailed report covering the South Australian scheme. Entitled Container Deposit Legislation - a South Australian environmental success story, it is perhaps the most detailed document concerning this topic which is openly available, and is quite an interesting read. 

But why is a scheme that boasts nothing but success stories and environmental benefits not  incorporated Australia wide? It is incredible, but through all the research conducted to find the answer, the closest we got went something like 'NSW are waiting for the other governments to act.'  There have been a couple of efforts by various MP's but nothing overly monumental has been put forward. Family First senator Steve Fielding proposed a bill offering up to 10 cents for drink containers deposited for recycling Australia wide, however it seems all debates on the bill have been delayed for whatever reason. 

So, for all you lucky people living in South Australia, where can you take your 4 slabs of West End stubbies from the party the night before and get some hard earned back? RecyclingSA have a list of collection depots in all areas of South Australia. There is also a list detailing what commodity each depot will accept and offer a deposit for. In addition the South Australian government has promised to increase the refund from 5c to 10c toward the end of 2008. Watch this space for an official announcement when the time comes. 

But, what about the rest of us? What options do we have? Well, unfortunately they appear to be few and far between. By far the easiest is to continue disposing recyclable materials in your kerbside rubbish collections. Those seeking some sort of financial reward may have some luck returning aluminium cans to metal recycling depots. Sims Metal are an Australian wide metal recycling business who usually offer cash for recycled metals, such as aluminium cans. 

A Victorian based group called AFROCAB (Australians For Refunds On Cans And Bottles) are being quite vocal in urging governments to consider a refund scheme. The web site itself has some pretty interesting survey results and usual facts and figures. Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be any where allowing you to sign a petition or advising you on what you can do actively. Fighting for WA is a slightly confusing site called Bring It Back. While the site is also full of usual facts, it feels as though their main direction is bringing the fight to packaging and bottling companies. Unlike AFROCAB, there is a facility there to 'take action'. 

The final option is the tried and true method of writing to your local MP .

Further research 

On Thursday 26 June 2008 the ABC's 7:30  Report had a story presenting the opinions of those for a national scheme, and those against. The transcript of the story as well as the video itself can be found here from the 7:30 Report's website.