In just four days, Tasmanians have deposited more than one million containers at Recycle Rewards refund points across the State.
The one-millionth deposit was made on Sunday afternoon at the refund point located in the Cove Hill Precinct in Bridgewater.
Minister for the Environment, Madeleine Ogilvie, thanked Tasmanians for embracing the scheme with such enthusiasm.
“One million containers and counting. I thank Tasmanians for getting behind the scheme and giving back to the environment and community,” Minister Ogilvie said.
“Recycle Rewards rewards Tasmanians for doing the right thing, ensuring that litter is recycled and doesn’t go into landfill, or the environment where it can hurt our wildlife.
“39 per cent of refunds and donations were made via the Recycle Rewards app, demonstrating a high-level of digital literacy among our population.”
Under Recycle Rewards, Tasmanians can choose to either receive a refund of 10 cents for every container they deposit or donate the proceeds to one of over 120 official Donation Partners.
So far, the three partners that have received the most donations are Tassie Mums, Landcare Tasmania, and the Burnie Men’s Shed.
Of the one million deposits, 594,253 were made in the South; 405,765 in the North; and 206,211 in the North West and on the West Coast.
Welcoming the key milestone was TasRecycle Chair Ben Kearney and TOMRA CleanAway CEO James Dorney.
“This is the start of an exciting future for the scheme in Tasmania, that benefits our environment and our charity and community groups,” Mr Kearney said.
“We’re proud to be making it easy for Tasmanians to return eligible drink containers as we continue to roll out the remaining refund points across this beautiful island state,” Mr Dorney said.
Sunday was the busiest day for deposits during the four-day period with a total of 362,880 deposits being made that day.
The most popular containers deposited were made using aluminium (62%), followed by plastic (25%), glass (12%), and LPB (1%).
There are currently 40 refund points installed across Tasmania, and a further 9 will be installed by the end of August 2025.