Latest news with #JimRound
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Millions of Aussies given chance to win $10,000 in simple recycling lottery
Millions of Aussies are in with a chance of winning $10,000 by simply recycling their household waste through the container deposit scheme in one state. It will only take 50 drink containers and proof of transaction for Victorians to be entered into the 'Win a millions cents' competition, an incentive introduced by authorities to boost recycling efforts. From Monday, May 5, anyone who heads to a deposit site and returns 50 containers will be eligible to go in a draw to win one of the five $10,000 cash prizes, with one lucky winner even getting the chance to donate a further $10,000 to a charity of their choice. Return at least 50 eligible containers in a single transaction. Keep the proof of transaction. Head to the website and complete the online entry form. "All you need to do is go collect your containers and take them back to your local refund point. And then take a photo of your receipt or a screenshot if you use the app," Vic Return CEO Jim Round told 7News. Every group of 50 containers equates to one entry into the prize draw, meaning Aussies can increase their chance of winning by recycling as many containers as possible in one transaction. The competition ends June 15. Victoria's Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos said the residents will be able to turn trash into cash and win "a million cents". "Not only does it help the environment, it also helps the supply chain of raw materials," he said about the state's unique recycling campaign. The chance to win $10,000 is one way that state governments are encouraging Aussies to do the right thing when it comes to their recycling. Container deposit schemes have been introduced across the country in recent years, allowing Aussies to collect 10 cents for every eligible plastic container they return. While the schemes have encouraged some to rummage through bins in search of eligible items, there are some advocates who have questioned whether the amount for a single plastic container is still enough of an incentive to enact real change in recycling behaviour. Heidi Taylor is the CEO of Tangaroa Blue, which has spent more than 20 years cataloguing plastic pollution that's washed up on Australian shores, and believes governments should consider increasing the financial return per bottle. "We have seen a reduction in beverage containers [in the environment] due to these schemes,' she told Yahoo News recently. "You see it reduce a lot at the beginning of a campaign or scheme like this and then it dwindles a little bit. "There's a lot of conversations going on right now about whether 10 cents is enough, and the answer to that is probably no. If you want people to see it as an incentive, you need to make it an incentive and 10 cents is not really that much in this day and age." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Aussie state where residents 'throw away' $100 million in free cash
Residents of one Australian state are missing out on at least $100 million annually from a government incentive aimed at improving recycling. The VicReturn scheme pays back 10 cents for every eligible can or bottle returned to one of its outlets, and while that might not seem like a lot it quickly adds up. If you splurge $58 on a slab of VB you'll get $2.40 straight in your pocket, or if Coca-Cola is your drink that's $3 back on those $50 boxes from Woolworths or Coles. CEO Jim Round told Yahoo Finance there's been lots of interest in VicReturn since it began 14 months ago. "We estimate that four in every 10 eligible containers consumed in Victoria are not yet being claimed through Victoria's Container Deposit Scheme," Round said. "This is people potentially throwing money in the bin," he said RELATED $30,000 Centrelink warning for Bank of Mum and Dad Aussie launches multi-million dollar rival to Coles, Woolworths: 'Want to be the reverse' Major FIFO warning over entry-level job promising $100,000 payday: 'Cash grabbing' Six months into the scheme, only around a third of people in the state had used it but recent polling shows that's now jumped to half. Victoria hopes to achieve a similar return rate to South Australia which started its program in 1977 and achieved a return rate of 76 per cent over 2022 — 2023. 'We can see awareness growing, and more people getting on board, but there are still a lot that go into landfill," Round said. "People are out on the street and they throw their containers into a waste bin… and plenty are going into the red bin at home. "If they go into the yellow bin that's fine, but we'd prefer people didn't throw their cash away.' Pictures supplied by VicReturn ahead of Clean Up Australia Day show dozens of containers littered in Melbourne's famous Yarra River. A quick scan of just one floating trap shows over $10 worth of plastic bottles bobbing in the water. Nationwide, cans and bottles make up 15 per cent of litter and VicReturn hopes by incentivising recycling it can help combat the problem. Since the NSW scheme was adopted in 2017, there's been a 13.6 per cent drop in litter from beverage containers. VicReturn has found that helping the environment is one reason people use the scheme, but the financial return is the main reason most people participate. It's in the city's west, which is home to some of Melbourne's most disadvantaged communities, where uptake has been greatest – until recently the region when extended through Geelong and Warrnambool accounted for 40 per cent of returns. 'We know there's a lot of people facing cost-of-living challenges … Just that little bit of extra help and getting that money back is useful,' Round said. Other participants opt to donate their money to a charity instead, particularly in regional Victoria where there have been container collection drives organised to help local sporting teams. Another major factor driving use of the scheme is how many families are living in the area. 'Little kids in particular will go around and collect from their broader family network," Round said. "We've got roughly 650 return points across the state, and one of the biggest predictors of how well that return point is going to go is the number of families with kids under 15 that live in that area." Almost every state and territory in Australia has container return schemes with refunds of 10 cents for every eligible container. NSW: Return and Earn Victoria: CDS Vic Queensland: Containers for Change SA: Container deposit scheme WA: Containers for Change ACT: ACT Container Deposit Scheme NT: NT Container Deposit Scheme Tasmania: Tasmania will be delivering its Container Refund Scheme called Recycle Rewards on May 1 Sign in to access your portfolio
