10 cent deposit scheme would help Clean Up Australia

A 10-cent deposit on drink bottles and cans would dramatically improve recycling rates in NSW and force industry to take more responsibility for the waste it creates, according to the NSW Greens.

”Clean Up Australia Day is very satisfying, you find somewhere with rubbish, you pick it up and then next time you look it’s not there, so simple but it seems to work. This year the area around Stoney Creek near the Lions Park is the target. Plastic bottles and cans around the Lake edge are always a big pick up item because they float” Greens Candidate for Lake Macquarie , Suzanne Pritchard said

“Clean Up Australia Day this year is the 11th I’ve participated in with the Coal Point Progress Association. When we first started we tackled rubbish that had been dumped in the reserves for years, then we circumnavigated the roads in the area, we spent a few years at Trade Fair Lookout, truck loads came out of there, and more recently we’ve cleaned up the Woolies carpark garden”

Survey figures released last week by Clean Up Australia show that 83% of people in NSW believe a ten cent deposit and refund scheme would encourage more people to recycle bottles and cans, and that 89% think drink manufacturers should be involved in setting up such a deposit and refund scheme.

A container deposit scheme (CDL) would create a level playing field where consumers and producers shared responsibility for dealing with waste. Landfill space is fast running out and more effective ways of recycling are urgently needed.

In South Australia, where they have a deposit scheme, the recycling rate is over 80 per cent. ”The ratepayers of Lake Macquarie already pay for waste removal via council’s kerbside recycling. The businesses that profit from these products should be prepared to pay their fair share as well” she said.

“If you provide businesses with a greater incentive to find an even better solution it’s amazing how innovative industry can be, especially if they feel they can make a profit out of something when society demands it.”

Council recycling can’t help reduce the large amount of waste consumed outside the home. A 10-cent deposit scheme would increase recycling rates and force industry to be more responsible for its own waste, said Suzanne

It is also a good way to raise the issue of waste and litter with children. People who grew up in the seventies would remember cash a can encouraging kids to recycle both their own litter and that of others. CDL creates an extra incentive for the community to recycle their waste. This would be a vast improvement on the current situation, where manufacturers profit and ratepayers foot the bill, said Suzanne