JUN/JUL 2026 ISSUE 132
20 Waste Expo 2026 28 Landfill levies 32 Navigating EPA hurdles
South Australia saw an immediate jump in return rates when it lifted its deposit rate. Image: TOMRA Cleanaway
Inside NSW’s container return machine By Inside Waste
PP: 100024538
ISSN 1837-5618
New South Wales now operates the largest container deposit scheme in the country, and one of the most sophisticated outside Europe. Since launching in December 2017, the scheme has seen over 16 billion used beverage containers returned through the network. Currently, 67 per cent of eligible beverage containers supplied into NSW are redeemed through the scheme (via return points or kerbside collections), across an estimated 3.8 billion eligible drink containers placed on the market each year. A key partner in the delivery of the scheme is TOMRA Cleanaway, the joint venture appointed as network operator. In this role, the company is responsible for return points, counting, verification and material flows. James Dorney, chief executive of TOMRA Cleanaway says as well as being a recycling program, the scheme is a complex and integrated network designed
around convenience, incentives, automation and accountability. Every container returned through its return point network is scanned, counted and reported, producing a daily data set that lands on government and stakeholder desks each morning. That design choice, he said, explains both the scale of the volumes being handled and why the scheme continues to grow.
Sustainability rebates as behaviour change infrastructure: insights from council study By Justin Bonsey Council sustainability rebates have become one of local government’s most practical tools for helping households and businesses take tangible action – from repairing rather than replacing, to upgrading hot water and heating/cooling appliances, through to improving energy and water performance, and adopting lower-emissions technologies. They are visible, often popular, and sit where climate action, resource recovery and community expectations intersect. Until recently, the sector lacked a shared national evidence base on how these programs are designed and delivered, what councils are measuring, and where the strongest opportunities lie to improve outcomes and efficiency. Without that common picture, many teams have had to build programs largely on their own, drawing on peer conversations and ad-hoc examples rather than comparable data.
Built for scale and verification The NSW scheme is built on near total automation. Reverse vending machines, over-thecounter (OTC) return points and bulk container automated depots all feed into a single audit and verification process, with every eligible container scanned individually. “The only glass that comes into the facility here at Eastern Creek is from the over-the-counter network,” Dorney said.
A first-of-its-kind national study To help fill that gap, rebate delivery platform Rebately commissioned Tidal Circular to conduct Australia’s first national study focused specifically on council sustainability rebates. The work combined survey responses from 67 councils across Australia with practical design principles and a six-pillar framework for better practice and was independently reviewed by Monash University’s BehaviourWorks Australia.
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