South Australia continues to lead nation on recycling

Environment groups today congratulated the South Australian government on its decision to stand up to the beverage industry and increase its deposit on drink containers from 5¢ to 10¢.

The decision follows intense lobbying from the beverage industry not to increase the deposit.

A study undertaken by Hyder Consulting last year showed that South Australians recycle at least 50% more materials than any other state in Australia.

“South Australians are regarded amongst the best recyclers in the world, and their highly successful container deposit legislation has been a key driver in helping people to understand the need to recycle,” said Dave West, spokesperson for the Boomerang Alliance.

Boomerang Alliance believed that the deposit needed to be increased following the expansion of the deposit onto a wider range of products such as flavoured milk drinks, where consumers were not yet in the habit of returning their used containers.

“By increasing the deposit, the government is simply ensuring that people continue to receive a valuable incentive for their recycling. We congratulate the state government for continuing to ensure South Australia has great recycling rates,” said West.

When the deposit was first introduced 30 years ago, a can of soft drink was worth about 30¢, today a can of soft drink costs around $2. If the deposit had kept pace with the increasing prices of drinks, it’d be well over 30¢ now.

In a national poll conducted last year for Clean Up Australia, 82% of people said they believed a 10¢ refund scheme should be established across the country.