One year of CDS

THIS month marks one year since the beginning of the Container Deposit Scheme with more than one billion containers returned by Victorians in the last twelve months.

Victorians returned more containers than any other scheme in the country during its first year and $100 million has gone back to residents and charities.

“Victorians have gone gangbusters for our Container Deposit Scheme – saving one billion containers from landfill, putting $100 million back in their pockets and making it the number one scheme in the country,” said Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos.

“There are lots of things to celebrate on the one year of this scheme that gives back to the community, creates local jobs, teaches kids about recycling and safeguards our environment.”

The top regional refund point was in Mildura with 19.8 million containers deposited.

Points in East Bendigo and Kangaroo Flat were the third and fourth most used respectively and the Ballarat South refund point operated by McCallum was the sixth most popular.

Victorians on average recycled 145 containers per return and the week following the AFL grand final was the biggest on record with 26 million containers deposited.

Around 50 per cent of recycled containers were made of aluminium, 30 per cent plastic and 17 per cent glass.

To mark the anniversary, an installation has opened at Science Works which teaches children about the lifecycle of a bottle returned through the scheme.

It includes messages from Victorian primary students inside 320 recycled bottles, highlighting the importance of recycling.

The installation is open until Monday 27 January 2025.