There is only one choice if the scheme is to be a success. The NSW government must choose a container deposit scheme which has a deposit refund of 10 cents to consumers.
The beverage industry’s counter proposal called ‘Thirst for Good’ is a desperate ploy to derail real action on litter reduction.
With the release of the options paper at the weekend, it is clear that there is only one choice. A 10 cent refund scheme which provides an incentive to recycle the millions of drink containers that currently end up polluting the environment of NSW.
Container deposit schemes have been running for decades in other jurisdictions, such as South Australia and across the world, so we can have a world’s best practice model right here in NSW.
The beverage industry has proposed some bizarre alternatives to try and derail the container deposit scheme. These schemes need to be seen for what they are, desperate attempts of the big companies to avoid their role and responsibility in reducing waste they produce.
The Greens will be working with the community over the Summer to put pressure on the Government to ensure that a genuine container deposit scheme is enacted to reduce litter in NSW.
The options papers canvasses the use of modern technology such as reverse vending machine, which can be great in many situations but we still need bulk collection stations to incentivise larger scale container recovery.
The Greens are strong supporters of evidence-based policy and I have had a bill to introduce a container deposit scheme in NSW parliament since late last year so it is encouraging to see this important recycling initiative moving forward.
Options Paper: http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/waste/cds-consult.htm
Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC, Greens environment spokesperson
