Tasmania gears up for ‘Recycle Rewards’
Tasmania’s new container refund scheme, Recycle Rewards will officially commence on 1 May 2025. Once Recycle Rewards starts, Tasmanians will receive a 10-cent refund for any eligible drink container returned to a refund point in Tasmania.
“From 1 May 2025 the people of Tasmania will have access to a world class container deposit scheme that puts money back into the hip pockets of Tasmanian’s while helping to deliver positive environmental outcomes.”
“TOMRA Cleanaway is excited to activate our network and build collaborative working relationships with the Tasmanian Government, Scheme Coordinator, TasRecycle, and importantly, the Tasmanian community to deliver their much anticipated ‘Recycle Rewards’ program.” – James Dorney, CEO TOMRA Cleanaway
Grants are now available to assist small beverage producers to transition to Tasmania’s container refund scheme ‘Recycle Rewards’. The grants will assist the producers with the cost of obtaining barcodes and updating labels ahead of the scheme’s launch on May 1.
Minister for Environment, Madeleine Ogilvie, encouraged Tasmanians to familiarise themselves with the important changes coming this year.
“Recycle Rewards has two goals: to reduce litter and increase recycling, both of which will support the development of our circular economy, an important part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future
“Drink containers make up as much as 45 per cent of Tasmania’s litter, and through Recycle Rewards, we hope to reduce that by half and double their recycling rate.” said Minister Ogilvie.
“Recycle Rewards will launch on May 1. In the meantime, keep recycling as normal using your yellow kerbside bin or using public recycling bins.” Minister Ogilvie said.
Under Recycle Rewards, Tasmanians can receive a refund of 10 cents for an eligible drink container returned to any one of 49 refund points deployed across the State in a phased roll-out from May 1, including on King and Flinders Islands.
The scheme is administered by the Scheme Coordinator, TasRecycle, and the refund points are established and operated by the Network Operator, TOMRA Cleanaway Tasmania.
Work is underway to set up the state-wide network of refund points, including identifying locations and undertaking site works.
Once the network of refund points is fully rolled out in the months following scheme commencement, there will be 49 refund points across the state for people to return their eligible drink containers in exchange for a 10-cent refund. Once returned, these containers become valuable material for recycling.
Information for beverage manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and retailers who may be first responsible suppliers of eligible containers into Tasmania is now available on the TasRecycle website.
More information, including the grant guidelines and how to apply, is available on the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania website.
