What do you do after you finish a can of coke, or after a bottle of juice? Throw it away? Clean it and re-use it later on? There is another option for you from July next year.
The Premier of New South Wales, Mike Baird, announced to support the Container Deposit Scheme, a community-backed recycling scheme for drink containers on 8th May 2016. That means, from July 2016, ten cents will be paid for every drink container (150mL - 3000mL, and displaying a NSW CDS label) when returned to a depot or reverse vending machine. The aim of it is to reduce street litter by 40% by 2020, as there are 160 million drink containers of this type end up in the litter every year in NSW.
I think the scheme is brilliant. Although some manufacturing giants, such as Coca-Cola and Schweppes, have threatened they will need to increase the drink prices by 20%, the impact to the environment greatly outweighs the impact to our wallets. This is because the increase in price makes people more mindful before buying bottles of drink. Also, the increase in price will encourage people more willing to claim the 10 cents back.
It was announced that containers could be returned to a depot or reverse vending machine. However, in order to facilitate people recycle the bottles, the government must have a very user-friendly network to collect bottles. For example, it would be very great if there is a vending machine per apartment building to replace those current yellow bins. Furthermore, if the scheme is successfully launched and properly run, the government should extend the range of acceptable containers to other recyclable products, one example would be the plastic takeaway boxes we use every day.
References:
Bhole, A. (2016, May 09). 'A historic win for the community': Cash for cans to start in New South Wales - but will it make your beer and soft drinks cost more? Retrieved May 24, 2016, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3579075/New-South-Wales-cash-cans-scheme-start-despite-fierce-opposition-beverage-industry-giants-Coca-Cola-Carlton-Lion-Schweppes.html
Code, B. (2016, May 08). NSW to refund 10 cents for cans under new scheme. Retrieved May 25, 2016, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-08/nsw-to-refund-10-cents-for-cans-and-containers-cds/7394408
Needham, K. (2016, May 8). Cash for cans decision a tipping point. Retrieved May 25, 2016, from http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/baird-backs-kids-over-big-beverage-10-for-every-drink-bottle-you-can-find-20160507-gooqih.html
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