New to WA— according to https://www.alinea.org.au/return-it/
Get Cash for Containers!
Return-It gives customers a 10-cent refund for each can, plastic or glass bottle returned at either Return-It Depots or Return-It Express Pods across WA.
Also available for ACT/QLD.
Huh?
We had a takeaway at the time. Bought 20cent water for 15cent buying in bulk new container scheme came in so all bottles had 10cent tax added. New cost of water 30cent a bottle, paid 15cents. Doubled the value of my money in 3 weeks. Then sold them $1.50 a bottle, profit 😂
Don't understand what you are talking about.
So my understanding is States that have this scheme pay higher for the containers .
Of course most don't return them .
Hence most consumers lose out .
Yes
Yes. Blame coca cola amatil and any others who jacked their prices by a full 15c per container instead of putting it up by the 15c * the ACTUAL proportion returned.
Realistically I doubt the price should have gone up by more than 2c.
And if coke knew how to manage themselves and stop making moronic business decisions that cop them huge losses in inefficiency (my partner used to work for them), 2c would be neither here nor there.
1.25 litre of soda water at Colesworth was $0.75 before this scheme began, now it is $1.00.
Yes, I noticed that & it happened exactly on the launch date.
ACCC should investigate profiteering out of the recycling scheme. Of course that won't happen as they will probably say it is to cover extra costs involved with the scheme.
@Gaz1: Coles 2 litre soda water is $1.45, but I never bought that before, curious to know if it increased in price? (I think 2 litre bottles are excluded under the scheme?)
Drink up before it loses its gas for the best unit-cost price!!
was $0.75 before this scheme began, now it is $1.00.
Coles seem to be using every excuse or trick in the book to raise prices. I've seen two major "tricks" at my local store:
I rarely shop at Woolworths, has anyone noticed similar tricks there?
who do you think is behind the schemes in both Qld & WA? The question you should actually be asking is what happens to and how much is unclaimed, I can tell you it is many many millions
Why would they do that? The point is to incentivise returning them. They have to pay into the scheme whether you return the container or not - the government keeps it if you don't return it. And if you dump the container in your council recycle bin the council collects it.
Scheme has been operating in SA since 1977, and here close to 80% of deposit containers are returned. For those that don't return them, the non-refunded deposit acts as an "environmental tax".
This! Some people collect the containers left/dumped by others.
Lazy tax for some = profit for others.
What if you dump then in the yellow recycling like we've always done. How do I get paid.
I also think what about those who don't own cars and have difficulty getting to a recycle station.
Hence why I see this as a regressive tax, and a scheme made to benefit those who run it in the guise of being "environmentally friendly".
What if you dump then in the yellow recycling like we've always done.
Then you're assisting the poor and homeless in your suburb, who will quickly learn to "dumpster dive" in your recycling bin, and earn a dollar or two.
At least that's how it seems to work in Brisbane, where we are requested to leave the bins out overnight, the night before the rubbish collection. Seems okay to me, the people I've seen doing it don't dig deep and don't make a mess. YMMV.
You can help them by leaving the returnable bottles on top of your other recycling, so it's easier for them to collect.
you obviously don't get paid
In those cases, your council collects the 10c refund instead.
@[Deactivated]: Only if they separate the containers out and process them through the scheme themselves. I highly doubt they do that, in which case the state gets to keep the tax that was paid at the manufacturing step.
@Trance N Dance: Many larger councils do, if they have automated sorting machines (which larger councils which can afford it tend to as it gives them the opportunity to save money on recycling by presorting it)
Not sure about other states but all consumers who purchase non-exempt bottled drinks lose out.
The tax per container is around 13.5c charged to the first supplier (usually the manufacturer) and 10c refund to the consumer. We're actually paying 3.5c that supposedly goes to the people operating the scheme. The government and the operators of these schemes love to point out how much we're returning and recycling under the scheme but there's no comparison data to what was being recycled before the schemes were introduced (conveniently it's hard to come up with those figures because the containers were never tracked until now). I'll agree that there's more recycling now because of the scheme but is the difference actually worth the extra tax we're now paying….
I'd prefer to go back to glass bottled ones like when I was a child.
How is this a deal ?
Firstly, it is not new. It has been in effect since the start of October.
Secondly, it is as much of a 'deal' as any other government scheme - which is to say, it isn't a deal but people on this website seem to have a strange idea of what counts as a bargain nowadays.
people on this website seem to have a strange idea of what counts as a bargain nowadays.
It's a way of saving money, which is what this site is all about. Like the many deals like "$1 Final Value Fee for The Next 5 Items You Sell @ eBay Australia". It can save you money, just not as directly as most of the deals here.
I agree that it's really more like an announcement, which many people would have seen if they watched the nightly news, and may have received a flyer announcing the scheme. But many people are time-poor, and missed those things. Hence the up-votes.
people would have seen if they watched the nightly news, and may have received a flyer announcing the scheme
No need to go to that trouble…
The 10c refund is printed on each eligible drink bottle & can - that they are drinking from & paid the extra 10c for.
Surely that's enough of a reminder & incentive for people to check out their nearest refund site?
My nearest refund stations dropped fliers into my letterbox. Chose the closest one, who were great.
@INFIDEL: If I have been buying something for years, and a small part of the label changes, I can't say I'm necessarily going to notice that.
My nearest refund stations dropped fliers into my letterbox.
Do you have a "no junk mail" sticker on your letterbox? While such notices aren't junk mail, they are most likely delivered by the same people who deliver junk mail, so you probably won't get one if you have that sticker.
@Russ: So ignorance is your defence ;-)
But if people ignore what is in their hand in front of them, what they paid for - they probably can't be helped.
My frugalness focuses on free offers & refunds. So I notice the 10c refund label. I check before throwing containers in the recycling bin.
Luckily, they ignored my junk mail stickers! Since they were offering me money & were great, I let them off.
@INFIDEL: The other defense is for people who move to a state where the refund system has been working for years. Then they won't know. Labels are usually the same Australia-wide, if they come from a state that didn't have a refund system, then they won't get any notification that one exists in the state they've moved to.
@Russ: Some Deals here mention the container deposit (resulting in different prices for alcohol in different States). So refund & it's State differences are regularly discussed.
Centre in Brissie 1km from home, gave me $43 two weeks back - which was more than I should have got. Easy access, drive through, stay in car. Was so easy. And cleared a corner at home.
Local centre gave me $43 2 weeks back
That would take 430 bottles in QLD - that's a lot of bottles. System isn't nearly as good near me (Brisbane), you have to feed the bottles into a reverse-vending machine. Total trip on the order of an hour, so for people who are contractors and earn a higher rate than $43/hour (after tax), it's not worth the trouble. Better to spend that extra hour at work, and leave the bottles in the recycling bin.
@Russ: Was in Brisbane - a few minutes drive, just past Bunnings I was visiting.
Drive into warehouse, containers are taken from car & sorted by staff. They handed me a receipt & cash. Took about 10 minutes sitting in car, for for over 400 containers on a Sunday.
Best to check out other operators & what they offer.
Used recycle4cash. But only 1 location. I checked out their process & 5star reviews before choosing them.
(Had an inspection to sell my house, so bottles & cans had to go. My first recycling trip since the scheme was launched.)
@Russ: there are alternatives like drop & go and drive through, anyone who feeds more than a few dozen into a machine has rocks in their head
@Irishness: You're right, I just checked my local, and they now offer bag drop. That wasn't mentioned on any of the flyers I have previously received, only the reverse vending machines.
@Russ: Some supermarkets have 24/7 bag drops in their car parks - in a shipping container. Coles / Envirobank gave me a flier promoting it. Requires setting up an account.
@Russ: if it's Tomra they'd prefer you feed them through the RVM less work for them and you won't dispute the number of containers, it's offered partly due to competitors
This is just an ad!
Many other businesses pay the mandated 10c per refundable container. It's stated on the container!
This business is too far away for me.
Another operator (within walking distance) paid more than they should have for my returns. Must have miscounted the number of containers. I'll stick with them.
Personally, I'd like to see a $10 deposit on car batteries, to encourage people to return them to a recycling depot instead of just dumping them in the bin.
I know many places that sell car batteries will accept the old batteries for recycling, but when your car battery dies, most people drive a different car to the battery store, and frequently don't take the dead battery with them due to weight, inconvenience, possibility of damaging the carpet in your car, and so on. (P.S. most rectangular buckets are big enough for a car battery, that makes them less risky to transport. Sandwich the bucket between the front and rear seats, so it can't tip over).
And the manufacturers just passed the 10c to the customers by jacking up the retail price…. Points?
Actually OP, a lot of bottles (e.g. milk bottles) aren't eligible, at least in QLD. Perhaps you should add "eligible" to the title?
While usual milk containers aren't eligible, most flavoured milk drinks are.
Needs to show the 10c refund logo & be valid for your State.
the reverse vending machines that Tomra runs are easier to use and you'll get paid faster by EFT.
i typically put in about 40 containers a week and i'm done in a few minutes depending on how busy it is.
if you have an eligible container, it lets you know on the spot. sometimes it didn't get a good read on your barcode and will usually accept it on second try.
Much easier to use the barcode refund machines - when returning a small number of containers. But slow with a big supply.
Used in Aldi stores in France. Bought very cheap beer, drank on beach, took back to store for cash refund via machine.
i'd like to see more of these container deposit points in shopping centres like they have in Germany, too.
Definitely an advantage being able to get a refund where we buy the product. Especially when returning only a couple of bottles / cans. It then becomes a habit, like taking bags to the shop.
Long ago, when I was a child, there were deposits on soft drink bottles. I used to pick them up & get cash at the local store. Of course the shopkeeper would want to sell lollies rather than give out cash.
@INFIDEL: Yep, I remember when I could get 20 cents for a coke bottle - or a small bag of lollies. Inflation has really wrecked a lot of old memories.
Adjusting for inflation, 20 cents in ~1980 is worth about 88 cents today.
https://www.in2013dollars.com/australia/inflation/1980?amoun…
@Russ: Once kids learnt there was money in rubbish, the recyclables were harder to find. Although I remember being called names for recycling back then! But 20c was a lot of money to a kid.
This scheme is a (profanity) cancer on society. Price of all bottled drinks has gone up. Government and drink producers can suck on my schlong.
yes and as I said earlier look at who is behind some of the schemes, was the perfect excuse to raise prices and by more than the 10c refund amount not to mention the cash pile they are sitting on
![[WA,ACT,QLD] Return It to Get Cash for Containers: 10-Cent Refund for Each Can/Plastic/Glass Bottle Returned @ Selected Location](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/96/575896.jpg?h=2f425535)
Bugger, when it came in for qld we bought a shipping container of 600ml water, paid 15cent a bottle, after it was brought in they were 30cents a bottle (were 20cent each but had discount for buying so much lol)
Was like doubling your money in 3 weeks then we sold em :) winning.