Container Refund Scheme parliamentary committee hears refund should be doubled to 20c

Queensland’s Container Refund Scheme returns should be doubled to 20c in a bid to keep up with inflation and encourage more residents to take part, a parliamentary committee has heard.

Queensland’s Container Refund Scheme returns should be doubled to 20c to address languishing recycling rates despite warnings it is pushing distilleries to breaking point, a parliamentary committee has heard.

The probe into Queensland’s low container return rates and the financial management of operator Container Exchange – first reported by The Courier-Mail – has called for the refund to be doubled from 10c to 20c.

Experts argue it will help grow the 67.4 per cent container recovery rate, which remains significantly below the legislated 85 per cent target.

TOMRA, which operates container refund points across Queensland, called for a “meaningful” increase to deposit returns.

Its submission noted Germany’s container refund scheme achieved a 98 per cent return rate due largely to its equivalent 43c refund.

“The 10c deposit is an increasingly meaningless financial incentive for consumers to return their containers, thus depressing overall return rates,” TOMRA said.

Cleanaway head of corporate affairs Mark Biddulph said the refund should increase to 20c to keep up with inflation.

Cory Bumstead (34) ands father Robert Hazel (89) pictured at the Stafford Shopping Centre recycling centre. File picture: David Clark

“There is strong evidence suggesting that the amount of the deposit value is one of the biggest drivers to generate higher return rates,” he said.

“The deposit value of 10c per container has not kept up with inflation and offers little incentive for the consumer.”

However, the committee also heard small-scale distillers were struggling to pay the 13c levy per bottle manufactured. Queensland Distillers Association president David Ridden, while supportive of recycling efforts, said the scheme was not financially transparent.

“The current state of Queensland’s container refund scheme is, at best, grossly ineffective, and possibly borderline fraudulent,” he said.

“Queensland spirits manufacturers are forced to pay into the scheme for every bottle sold in Queensland, even though not all bottles stay within the state.

“Many are purchased by tourists and taken around the country or overseas, yet the scheme collects fees for bottles that it has no chance of recovering or recycling. This is an unjust and unfair financial burden on Queensland manufacturers, who are paying into a system that offers them no return on investment.”

Submissions to the parliamentary inquiry have called for Queensland's Container Refund Scheme to include milk containers. Picture David Clark

Redland Coast Distillery owner Steve Pannan said the scheme had put financial pressure on his business.

“(I) cannot support a scheme that is essentially another tax on this industry, with little to no return in terms of environmental benefit,” he said.

He said more than 10 million glass spirit bottles were imported into Australia every year and the Queensland Distillers Association was working with Griffith University to explore sustainable alternatives.

Submitters also called for the committee to consider including milk containers in the container refund scheme.

Originally published as Container Refund Scheme parliamentary committee hears refund should be doubled to 20c