Australian container return schemes are a booming good news story
By close of business on Tuesday the NSW scheme had collected 13,742,879 bottles and cans and paid out $1.374 billion in refunds, with 1.1 million tonnes of product being recycled.
In Victoria, an estimated 1.8 billion containers have been recycled through the container deposit scheme since its launch in November 2023. A government spokesman said Victorians had collected $186 million from the scheme, including more than $1.9 million donated to charities and community groups.
The last state to introduce its own scheme was Tasmania, which began operations at the start of May and collected more than 1.2 million bottles and cans in its first four days of operations.
According to a study published earlier this month in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, the density of plastic pollution had fallen 39 per cent over a decade in coastal areas around Australia's cities, in part due to container deposit schemes.
Loading
It found containers were not the main form of debris found around Australian cities, except Hobart, according to a survey conducted shortly before the Tasmanian container deposit scheme began operations.
'Hobart, which did not have container deposit options at the time of the survey, was found to have the highest occurrence of fragment and whole beverage bottles compared to all other cities,' says the report. 'This provides additional evidence that effective policies, such as container deposit legislation, can help to reduce plastic in the environment.'
The schemes, which see consumers charged a 10¢ deposit which is refunded upon container returns, are successful because they provide the packaging industry with a clean and reliable stream of material for recycling, said James Dorney, chief executive of Tomra Cleanaway, the joint venture which runs the NSW scheme.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Netanyahu ignores pleas for calm and condemns Albanese, Australian protesters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has waded further into Australian domestic politics, claiming Australia risked being engulfed in a 'tsunami of antisemitism', despite direct pleas for him to calm down from Australia's top Jewish community leaders. Netanyahu said pro-Palestinian protesters calling for a ceasefire in Sydney or Melbourne should be 'counteracted' in a Sky News interview on Thursday. 'If you don't stop [attacks such as on the synagogue] when they're small, they get bigger and bigger and bigger, and ultimately, they consume your society,' he said. '[Protesters] should be defied by the leaders. And yet we see – not in America, I'm happy to say, because President Trump is standing strong – but in Europe, one country after another succumbing to them, condemning Israel that is fighting these monsters and is doing its best to avoid civilian casualties.' Netanyahu also has labelled the burning of a Melbourne synagogue last year as part of a 'tsunami of antisemitism'. Since Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1200 people, more than 60,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed, according to the latest estimates from Gaza's health ministry. Netanyahu did not escalate his bitter personal attack on Albanese during the Sky interview beyond comments previewed earlier on Thursday in which he branded the Australian 'forever tarnished' by his plan to recognise a Palestinian state. Netanyahu was condemned this week by Jewish groups and conservative MPs for a scathing social media post on Tuesday night that called Albanese 'weak' and accused him of abandoning Israel and Australia's Jewish community.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Netanyahu ignores pleas for calm and condemns Albanese, Australian protesters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has waded further into Australian domestic politics, claiming Australia risked being engulfed in a 'tsunami of antisemitism', despite direct pleas for him to calm down from Australia's top Jewish community leaders. Netanyahu said pro-Palestinian protesters calling for a ceasefire in Sydney or Melbourne should be 'counteracted' in a Sky News interview on Thursday. 'If you don't stop [attacks such as on the synagogue] when they're small, they get bigger and bigger and bigger, and ultimately, they consume your society,' he said. '[Protesters] should be defied by the leaders. And yet we see – not in America, I'm happy to say, because President Trump is standing strong – but in Europe, one country after another succumbing to them, condemning Israel that is fighting these monsters and is doing its best to avoid civilian casualties.' Netanyahu also has labelled the burning of a Melbourne synagogue last year as part of a 'tsunami of antisemitism'. Since Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1200 people, more than 60,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed, according to the latest estimates from Gaza's health ministry. Netanyahu did not escalate his bitter personal attack on Albanese during the Sky interview beyond comments previewed earlier on Thursday in which he branded the Australian 'forever tarnished' by his plan to recognise a Palestinian state. Netanyahu was condemned this week by Jewish groups and conservative MPs for a scathing social media post on Tuesday night that called Albanese 'weak' and accused him of abandoning Israel and Australia's Jewish community.
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
‘Rewarding terror': Netanyahu slams Albo
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has unleashed a scathing attack on Anthony Albanese, declaring the Prime Minister's legacy will forever be stained by weakness in the face of Hamas. In a fiery 16-minute interview with Sky News host Sharri Markson, Mr Netanyahu revealed the full extent of his anger at Labor's decision to recognise a Palestinian state, accusing Mr Albanese of empowering terrorists and betraying Jewish Australians. 'I'm sure he has a reputable record as a public servant, but I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of these Hamas terrorist monsters,' Mr Netanyahu said. 'When the worst terrorist organisation on earth, these savages who murdered women, raped them, beheaded men, burnt babies alive in front of their parents, took hundreds of hostages, when these people congratulate the Prime Minister of Australia, you know something is wrong.' In an interview on Sky News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unleashed a scathing attack on Anthony Albanese, accusing him of showing weakness to Hamas. Sky News Credit: Supplied The Israeli leader said Canberra's decision, alongside Britain, France and Canada and other countries, to support Palestinian recognition at the UN had only emboldened extremism. 'So when Prime Minister Albanese … says 'Oh we'll give them a Palestinian state,' they're actually rewarding terror,' he said. 'Last time I looked, Australia was part of the West … it's our common Judaeo-Christian civilisation. They want to tear it down and destroy it.' The diplomatic feud has spiralled in recent days, with Israel revoking visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke cancelled the visa of Israeli MP Simcha Rothman. Mr Albanese has downplayed the attacks, telling reporters earlier this week that he treats leaders with 'respect' and does not take personal offence. 'I don't take these things personally … He has had similar things to say about other leaders,' Mr Albanese said. But Mr Burke was far more blunt in his response, saying, 'Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he did not take Mr Netanyahu's comments personally. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Speaking from his office in Jerusalem as Israeli forces massed around Gaza City, Mr Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with a complete takeover of the enclave, even if Hamas accepted a last-minute ceasefire proposal. 'We're gonna do that anyway. That there was never a question that we're not going to leave Hamas there,' he said. 'It's like leaving the SS in Germany … you clear out most of Germany, but you leave out Berlin with the SS and the Nazi core there.' He said the war could end immediately if Hamas surrendered and released the remaining hostages, but insisted Israel would not tolerate any Hamas stronghold. 'It's to free Gaza, free them from Hamas tyranny, free Israel and others from Hamas terrorism, give Gaza and Israel a different future, and I think we're close to doing it.' Warning to the west Mr Netanyahu drew parallels between today's Western leaders and the 'slumber of democracies' before World War II, warning that appeasement of militant Islam would endanger nations such as Australia. 'The Western leaders, including unfortunately in Australia, are … trying to feed the crocodile of militant Islam … The more you pour fuel into this anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and anti-Western fire, the greater the fire will grow, it will consume you in the end,' he said. He also condemned violent pro-Palestinian rallies in Sydney and Melbourne, urging governments to 'defy' extremist slogans rather than yield to them. 'These people … should be counteracted, they should be opposed, and they should be defied by the leaders,' he said. Trump's support Mr Netanyahu also revealed he had the backing of US president Donald Trump, who he said regarded Australia's position on Palestinian statehood as 'irrelevant'. 'I think President Trump put it best, he says Hamas has to disappear from Gaza,' Mr Netanyahu said, adding that Mr Trump fully supported Israel's goal of eliminating Hamas' last stronghold in Gaza City. The Israeli Prime Minister vowed to eliminate Hamas' last strongholds in Gaza, saying 'we're gonna do that anyway'. Sky News Credit: Supplied Anti-Semitism in Australia Tensions have been further inflamed by a spate of antisemitic attacks across Australia, with synagogues targeted and one subjected to an arson attempt. Mr Netanyahu said he was 'very dismayed' by the rise in anti-Semitic incidents on Australian streets, including the recent burning of a Melbourne synagogue. 'These are horrible things and if you don't stop them when they're small they get bigger and bigger and ultimately they consume your society,' he said. Despite the diplomatic rift, Mr Netanyahu said Israel would prevail in both the battlefield and propaganda war. 'I want to assure Australians that we will win,' he said. 'They may get away with pushing these lies against us, but we do not succumb on the battlefield. We roll back those who would exterminate us … and we'll secure the peace.' Flowers left at the door of the East Melbourne Synagogue in Victoria that was fire bombed. NewsWire/ David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia Australia's leading Jewish organisation has also stepped into the dispute, issuing a rare public rebuke of both Mr Netanyahu and Mr Albanese. In letters delivered this week, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) warned that the leaders' escalating 'war of words' was placing the Jewish community in a vulnerable position. The ECAJ described Mr Burke's remarks as 'incendiary and irresponsible', and criticised Mr Albanese's comments as 'excessive and gratuitously insulting', while condemning Mr Netanyahu's attacks on the Prime Minister as 'inflammatory and provocative'. 'The Australian Jewish community will not be left to deal with the fallout of a spat between two leaders who are playing to their respective domestic audiences,' The ECAJ said. In a private letter to Mr Albanese, revealed by Markson on Thursday night, Mr Netanyahu issued a stark warning: 'History will not forgive hesitation. It will honour action.'
