Tweed makes $4.77 million cashing in drink containers

A staggering 47.7 million drink containers have been returned for recycling in the Shire since December 2017

KA-CHING: Tweed Heads resident Carol Wilford has recycled her neighbours’ cans for about nine months, earning herself about $300.

TWEED has made more than a whopping $4 million recycling bottles and cans through the Return and Earn machines since its launch two years ago.

A staggering 47.7 million drink containers have been returned for recycling in the Shire since December 2017.

A 10 cent refund per eligible container might not seem much but Tweed residents like Carol Wilford are cashing in more than 544,000 containers a week.

Mrs Wilford earned about $300 in the past nine months by returning her neighbours’ beer cans.

She said her and her husband didn’t use many cans so when their neighbours offered to hand them over, she thought she could use the refund as “pocket money”.

“The neighbours collect a heap and they don’t want to go and do it, so I think, what the heck, I’ll go and do it,” Mrs Wilford said.

“I love it when I see people recycling and you see all types of people doing it, I think it’s fantastic.

“I’ve got all my little dockets packed away for me because I thought I could get something special for myself down the track.”

Minister for Environment Matt Kean said Tweed residents were making an impact on the local environment by ensuring drink containers were diverted from littering parks and waterways.

He said the Shire, together with the rest of NSW, has helped achieve a significant reduction in eligible drink container litter across the state since the start of Return and Earn.

“By ‘returning and earning’, Tweed Shire residents are contributing to a clean and valuable stream of recyclable material,” Mr Kean said.

“All containers returned through the scheme are sent for recycling or reuse, including being used to create new containers, textiles, packaging, construction materials and even agricultural pipes.

“Return and Earn has been a phenomenal success and has fundamentally changed people’s behaviour and thinking around litter.”

Visit returnandearn.org.au for more information about Return and Earn including which containers are eligible for a refund and your nearest return point.

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