The Kingborough community has backed in Tasmania’s container refund scheme, returning more than one million eligible containers to the Kingston Town Centre reverse vending machine in just 14 weeks. It is just the seventh refund point to hit the milestone since Recycle Rewards began on 1 May.
Local businesses, community groups and individuals have all been making use of the reverse vending machine. Like eleven-year-old Ari Hockley from Howden, who collects her family’s containers and also keeps her eyes peeled for containers in the environment. “We collect them from the side of the road and whenever we go on bushwalks,” she says. “I like feeding the containers into the machine – and using the refund to buy lollies!”
Mum Bek Hockley added that the refund point is well located in the carpark of Kingston Town Centre, making it easy for locals to integrate returning eligible containers into their regular routine. “We do our recycling before the Saturday shop. It makes sense because it’s on the way.”
TasRecycle CEO Ken Roughley passed on his congratulations on becoming part of the one million club! “Every eligible container returned through a Recycle Rewards refund point gets you 10 cents and helps build Australia’s circular economy. When we all work together, change really does add up.”
It has never been easier to help keep recyclables out of landfill and litter out of the environment, with Tasmanians encouraged to continue to recycle their eligible drink containers at more than 40 convenient and accessible refund points across the state, including on King and Flinders Islands.
Every eligible drink container returned receives a 10c refund, which you can keep for yourself or donate to a local charity or community group. Kingston area Donation Partners include the Kingston Beach Sailing Club, Rotary, Neighbourhood House, Neighbourhood Watch and Kingston Sea Scouts.
Three months since Recycle Rewards began, Tasmanians are continuing to embrace the scheme. Statewide eligible container returns currently average more than 230,000 per day and growing, with more than 23 million eligible containers already returned.
The state’s top refund points are spread right across the state. Devonport in the northwest is the state’s busiest site, followed by Hobart’s Claremont and Bridgewater and Launceston’s Mowbray and Meadow Mews. New Norfolk’s is the busiest refund point outside a metropolitan area. More than one million eligible containers have been returned at each of these sites.
Aluminium continues to be the top material returned, accounting for approximately 65% of returns. Plastics made up about 20%, glass 13% and liquid paperboard carton about 2%.
Visit recyclerewards.com.au for more information about Recycle Rewards, including container eligibility, refund point locations, signing up as a Donation Partner and how to make the most of your fundraising effort.