Perth Recycling 2023: Cash For Cans/Bottles Program In Perth 🍾

Perth Recycling 🍾: We always love to hear about progressive waste and recycling programs introduced by state governments to help minimise costs for small businesses and boost environmental performance.

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Last 2020, the Western Australia Government introduced cash for cans and bottles (i.e., what we have previously processed as commingled recycling). This will follow the success of similar schemes in other states such as NSW and SA. This involves a reverse vending machine system where submission of certain drinks containers – receives a 10c credit by the State.

 

Note: The program had been originally scheduled to begin on 2nd July 2020 but has been long delayed due to Covid-19.  The latest proposed start date (as of 24 June 2020) was for 1 October 2020. 

Please check on the latest start date info (which is in flux due to Covid-19) here at https://www.containersforchange.com.au/

Note that the program has started and is well up and running at the time of updating this blog in February 2023.

Other states such as the Northern Territory and South Australia have introduced similar recycling schemes. This has seen much higher recycling rates in these states and territories.

Waster provides low-cost waste and recycling services to small and medium Australian businesses. All our services are delivered on flexible 30-day agreements. So, you do not need to worry about long term contracts or rollover clauses.

 

Why you should pick Waster: some reasons

All across Australia, you can find all sorts of waste management and recycling services providers. “How can I ensure that Waster, the waste management company with good reviews, will fulfil their services with efficiency?” Well, you will have to book and find out about our services!

Why should you pick Waster? Here are some reasons:

1. You pay exactly what you asked for – and not a dollar more! For your waste management and recycling needs for your waste, avail of our flexible, 30-day contracts instead of those long, unproductive, and hidden fee-containing lock-in contracts.
2. Designed for small and medium businesses – we help you reduce cost while boosting recycling. That’s a win-win situation!
3. On-time and reliable – we provide fully accredited logistics and facility operators. By saying so, we ensure the safety and efficiency of our services.

Waster enables many Australian businesses to access the cheapest bin collection, removal and disposal prices there are in the Australian garbage market. A statement from our very own states that it “requires no lock-in contracts, no unjustified rate increases and no hidden costs“ and operates in all metro regions throughout Australia.

You can check out your garbage disposal bin options and pricing for Perth recycling and general waste by pressing the blue button below:

 

Perth recycling: introduction of cash for bottles and cans

According to the Channel 9 news report, ” West Australians will once again be able to exchange their cans and bottles for loose change as the McGowan government asks for community input to shape its container deposit scheme.

“For every bottle and can returned to deposit sites, the scheme will refund 10 cents and is due to roll out in 2019.” Note that this has now been delayed to July 2020. Just another side note: It kept getting delayed but finally started rolling a while back (October 2020) and continues to deal with cans today.

“Drinking containers make up 35.2 per cent of litter in WA compared to 10 per cent in South Australia, which has run a container deposit scheme for 40 years.

“The WA government estimates for every 10,000 tonnes of waste recycled, 9.2 full-time jobs are created compared to 2.8 jobs if the rubbish went to landfill, and says the scheme could bring up to 500 jobs.”

The scheme will cover a wide variety of bottle and drinks containers. According to the ABC, it will include:

Which containers will be eligible?

• Soft drink cans and bottles
• Bottled water
• Small flavoured milk drinks
• Beer, cider and mixed spirits drink cans and bottles
• Sports drinks
• Most containers between 150 millilitres and 3 litres.

“Premier Mark McGowan says they want to introduce the scheme in early 2019. They need to draft legislation and get it through Parliament first. It’ll be introduced all over the state.”

Thankfully, this program was implemented and is now fully up and running as of March 2021 (and continue to run up until today: January 2022).

There are various different collection and drop off points for your containers which you can see on the Containers For Change website which indicates collection locations. Different refund points offer different refund options, including EFT, retail cash vouchers and cash – so you should check the website in advance of visiting. If you require payment using EFT, you need to sign up on the Government website.

The program website has a wealth of information and even some great recycling hacks!

 

Perth recycling: more information on the program

A while back, the City of Perth announced its involvement in the State Government’s container deposit scheme, Containers for Change as the first CBD refund point in Australia.

Called the Containers for Change, it is WA’s new state-wide container deposit scheme allowing the community to cash in eligible recyclable containers for 10-cents each.

Below, we share with you more of the Perth Government’s statements:

The scheme aims to:

• Increase recovery and recycling
• Reduce litter and landfill
• Provide opportunities for social enterprise and benefits for community organisations
• Create opportunities for employment
• Complement existing collection and recycling activities for recyclable waste.

Over the next 20 years, WA’s Containers for Change container deposit scheme is estimated to result in:

• 706 million fewer beverage containers being littered;
• 6.6 billion fewer beverage containers sent to landfill; and
• 5.9 billion more containers being recycled.

Containers for Change also provides an exciting fundraising opportunity for schools, local sports clubs, community groups, charities and worthwhile causes; the scheme will also create hundreds of jobs across Western Australia.

Drop-off location?

The City’s approved Containers for Change refund points are designed to help residents process returns of all sizes – from a “quick drop and run” to counting large volumes of containers, and allowing customers to claim their refunds effortlessly, either in cash or electronically.

Container Refund Point – 8 Aberdeen Street, Perth

• Depot- Full service facility 
• Drop and run, plus large volume processing
• Refunds available via cash and via scheme ID. 

Opening Hours:

Monday to Friday – 10:00am – 4:00pm
Saturday to Sunday – 10:00am – 1:00pm  

 

Steps

1. SAVE YOUR CONTAINERS. If your drink container has a 10c mark, bring it to us. Most aluminium, glass, plastic, steel and liquid paperboard drink containers between 150ml and 3L can be saved. Make sure you take off the lids – we recycle those too, just separately.
2. BRING THEM TO US. Don’t let your containers’ potential go to waste. All across WA, we have refund points that will suit you. Depending on how many containers you’re returning and how you would like to receive your refund, find your local refund point.
3. EARN A REFUND, OR DONATE IT. Every container earns you 10c – which you can either keep or donate to a cause you believe in.

 

Return-it

In WA, we also have Return-It. How does the Perth WA recycling program work?

Return-It changes the way customers recycle and get rewarded for their effort. We have the largest number of Containers for Change locations making it easy to recycle in WA.

Currently, they have 13 authorised Return-It refund points as part of the Containers for Change WA refund scheme.

With recycling depots located in Balcatta, Buttler/Clarkson, Cockburn Central, Malaga, Shenton Park, Welshpool, Bunbury, Busselton, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie. Return-It has convenient locations you can return your bottles and cans for a 10-cent refund.

We partner with some local schools, community and charity groups as part of the Containers for Change, container refund scheme. Intelife, Workpower, Paraquad Industries, Milligan, Maker + Co and Regional Alliance West partner with Return-It Container Recycling Depots across Western Australia.

 

Conclusion on Perth recycling initiatives

Perth recycling schemes are more important than ever in 2022 following the Covid nightmare and due to the ongoing issues caused by the international recycling market. Getting some money from recycling is also a great way for clubs and teams to save towards a sporting trip or getaway.

Businesses in Perth are thankfully finding out now that recycling is one of the most reliable ways to minimise their operating costs and help present green credentials to an ever more discerning market place, where customers are prepared to shop around.

See our other blogs on related topics such as waste management and waste collection Perth. For an insight on how much waste actually ends up in landfill, check out our post on general waste collection.

 

More on Perth recycling

If there is one thing that modern Australia is obsessed about – well, maybe two things when you include coffee has to be housing and building/renovating your home. From watching the Block on TV to dinner party conversation, homes, housing and building are almost 50 per cent of the conversation. As Waster is obsessed with recycling, we thought it would be a good idea to combine both topics and ask not just Perth businesses, but literally everyone else: can you build a home from recyclables?

As mentioned above, Waster is a real difference in the waste and recycling Perth market, as we provide our services on flexible 30-day agreements with no hidden fees or rollover clauses. Of course, if you have any questions, you can contact our friendly customer service team.

 

Could you actually build a home from recycled commodities?

In this part of the blog, we ask: could build a house from recyclable items? We use Perth as an example place to build these houses from recycled items as, quite honestly, it is a nice place! The answer (a bit of a spoiler) is probably yes, but it may not be the best house. However, Perth businesses could build a large portion of it from recycling items.

Citymetric has a great article detailing a number of items that can be used for construction. We do not cover all the ideas below and recommend you check out the article if you are interested.

A number of the items are already being used in various countries globally. And, you can make them pretty easily.

 

Number one: newspaper wood

“This design comes from Norway, where over 1m tonnes of paper and cardboard are recycled every year. The wood is created by rolling up paper and solvent-free glue to create something not dissimilar to a log, then chopping it into usable planks. The wood can then be sealed so it’s waterproof and flame-retardant and used to build anything you would normally build with wood.”

 

Number two: bottle bricks

This is like an idea we covered yesterday for lighting using plastic bottles (see collecting rubbish).

“This proposal is a little different, as it relies on producing a consumer good specifically so it can later be used as a building material. Lots of companies now make bottles in cuboid or other tessellating shapes, to make them easier to transport.

“But the practice of doing so to create construction materials actually started with beer company Heineken in the 1960s – Alfred Henry Heineken, the owner of the brewery, visited a Caribbean island and was dismayed at both lack of shelter, and the number of discarded Heineken bottles scattered everywhere. So the company landed on a new, brick-shaped design for the bottle, shown in the images above. The bottleneck slots into the base of the next bottle, forming an interlocking line.”

For the other ideas, including Smog insulators, mushroom walls and wine cork panels, also check out this Citymetric article. See our informative blog on asbestos removal and disposal.

 

Waster: advocates of a more sustainable environment

In need of waste and recycling services?

Check out our waste recycling shop to review and avail our pricing and services. Also, please call 1300 WASTER (1300 927 837) or enquire at enquiries@waster.com.au for more information.

Check out our new podcast on the environment and all aspects of recycling info here.