Join the Central Queenslanders sharing in $100,000 each week

Residents turn bin contents into loose change as part of an environment scheme.

MILLIONS: Container for Change scheme accounts manager Amanda McCasker with just some of the bottles donated each week in Central Queensland. Picture: Allan Reinikka ROK240619acontain

EVERY week Central Queenslanders are turning their rubbish into $100,000 as part of the Containers for Change recycling scheme.

Since the scheme launched in November, CQ residents have returned 26 million containers to the ten Kanga Bins' facilities located from Yeppoon to Gladstone.

Accounts manager Amanda McCasker said the scheme was only getting more popular.

"We have seen an increase in private container refunds as well as commercial and we believe there is much more out there," Ms McCasker said in Rockhampton today.

"More charities are getting on board also which is amazing to see."

About one million eligible containers are returned every week, each attracting a 10-cent refund.

While some residents are adding the loose change to their weekly budgets, others are giving their containers to worthy causes.

Kanga Bins Container for Change scheme counter Jordan Roser sorts through the returned rubbish. Picture: Allan Reinikka ROK240619acontain

"There are so many charities worth backing and we ask for people to consider donating their containers to some of the amazing charitable organisations out there," she said.

"Knowing that organisations that are dedicated to supporting our community are receiving extra assistance is a bonus for us."

The Hall State School is one of the scheme's top donators, regularly returning containers to help the environment and the school.

"Words cannot explain how proud Kanga Bins are to be in a position to assist charities and community organisations," Ms McCasker said.

"There are amazing organisations such as Envision Hands, that use the bottle tops returned to them for make prosthetic limbs and other usable household items.

"The scheme is injecting money into the economy and charities that focus on restoring the Great Barrier Reef are also involved."

The scheme was designed to reduce the amount of beverage container litter in the environment.

The containers eligible for a refund are those that are most commonly consumed away from home and make up the majority of container litter in the environment.

To return containers as part of the scheme they must be clean with the bottle caps removed to avoid contamination.

Originally published as Join the Central Queenslanders sharing in $100,000 each week