Victorians in every corner of the state, including Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay, are embracing the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) in record numbers – having returned more than 500 million cans and bottles to be recycled.
Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos visited the CDS Vic Depot in Melton on May 24 – the second-highest performing site in Victoria to announce Victorians have put an impressive $50 million back into their pockets while donating thousands to participating charities or community groups.
The Melton depot which has handled 14.7 million cans, glass, and PET plastics in just over six months is operated by KARI in partnership with Clean Vibes, a sustainable event waste management company.
KARI is a not-for-profit organisation that supports Aboriginal families and youth. They also manage a second refund point in Coburg North and employ 17 people from mostly First Nations backgrounds across both sites.
Victorians continue to step up to the challenge in record numbers, returning an average of 138 containers per transaction with CDS Vic processing around 17 million cans, cartons and bottles statewide every week.
Williamstown is leading the state with over 18.6 million containers returned while Hallam is Melbourne’s third best performing site with residents having returned 10.9 million containers.
Mildura maintains its position as the top-performing refund point in regional Victoria, having returned an astounding 11.7 million containers, followed closely behind by Shepparton with more than 9.7 million containers collected.
Containers collected through CDS Vic can be transformed into all kinds of new things, including material for roads, furniture, construction, textiles and more – creating new economic opportunities that will support more than 600 jobs across Victoria.
Once fully rolled out in August, Victorians will be able to return eligible drink containers to around 600 refund points across the state.
To find your nearest refund point and for more information, visit cdsvic.org.au.
