BILLED as the biggest litter-reduction initiative ever undertaken in NSW, the container deposit scheme announced at the weekend by the State Government introduces financial incentives for people to recycle waste, Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall said today.
Under the scheme, anyone who returns a drink container to an approved collection depot will receive a 10-cent refund provided through beverage manufacturers.
Welcoming the announcement of the scheme, Mr Marshall said collection depots would range from large-scale depots through to standalone reverse-vending-machines and pop-up sites.
“This is terrific news,” Mr Marshall said. “In the country, we take exceptional pride in the cleanliness of our towns and public spaces.
“Drink containers make up one in every three pieces of litter. This scheme will cut down on the number of containers littering our parks, waterways and roadsides.”
“At the same time, the container deposit scheme could offer a useful source of revenue to volunteer community groups and small charities in our local communities.
“Sometimes government is able to introduce legislation which is an all-round win, and this is one of them.
“Our environment wins, rural communities win, and the State’s economy gets another financial mechanism for reducing waste.”
Announcing the scheme yesterday, Premier Mike Baird and Environment Minister Mark Speakman said it will apply to most drink containers between 150ml and three litres, which will display NSW Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) labelling.
Mr Baird said that in delivering a key election commitment, the government had developed “the single largest initiative ever undertaken to reduce litter in NSW”.
The scheme is a big step towards one of the Premier’s 12 priorities for the government, which is to reduce the volume of litter by 40 per cent by 2020.
Mr Marshall said an implementation working group would be appointed by the government and bring forward the draft legislation to establish the scheme.