The first refund point for Tasmania’s long awaited container refund scheme Recycle Rewards was unveiled this past weekend at the Cove Hill Precinct at Bridgewater.
TOMRA Cleanaway CEO James Dorney said the installation of the first reverse vending machine under the scheme was a significant milestone.
“Cove Hill is the first Recycle Rewards RVM point we have placed in Tasmania, and over the coming months, we’ll be delivering a network of 40 refund points including reverse vending machines and depots that will enable Tasmanians to return their eligible drink containers from May 1.”
James Dorney, CEO TOMRA Cleanaway.
The Recycle Rewards scheme is set to commence on May 1 2025, and will reward Tasmanians with a 10c refund for each eligible drink bottle, can and carton they return to any of the 49 refund points that will be rolled out across the state in coming months.
The scheme is expected to slash the number of drink containers going to Tasmanian landfills and is one of the key measures in cutting the state’s waste footprint into the future and increasing recycling rates.
TasRecycle will serve as the scheme coordinator, while TOMRA Cleanaway will be the network operator.
Ken Roughley, CEO of TasRecycle, said reverse vending machines (RVMs) would give people the opportunity to help environment and make money at the same time.
“You’ll be able to choose to keep the refund yourself or to donate it to a charity partner,” he said.
“The fact is that across Tasmania around 45% of all litter volume is made up of drink containers. The Recycle Rewards scheme aims to cut that in half, which means fewer bottles in landfill or floating in our waterways, so that’s great for our environment.”
TOMRA Cleanaway CEO James Dorney and TasRecycle CEO Ken Roughley. Image: Alastair Bett
TOMRA Cleanaway CEO James Dorney, Minister Madeleine Ogilvie and TasRecycle CEO Ken Roughley. Image: Alastair Bett
Environment Minister Madeleine Ogilvie said the upcoming launch of the container deposit scheme was “good news for locals and good news for our environment.”
“[Australia] will be the first continent in the world to have a container refund scheme across every state and territory,” she said.
“Every one of these RVMs will be able to process a container every second – that’s an impressive and important step in reducing litter and boosting recycling.”
A full list of Recycle Rewards refund point locations will be available in late April at the Recycle Rewards website.
This article originally appeared in The Mercury.
