ACT residents are one of the top Australian populations most likely to recycle drink containers for the 10c refund, according to coordinators of the Container Deposit Scheme, Exchange for Change (EfC).

CEO of EfC, Danielle Smalley, commented on the ACT’s efforts in diverting hundreds of millions of drink containers from landfill.

“The ACT CDS continues to go from strength to strength with 63 per cent of ACT residents having participated, resulting in more than 300 million drink containers returned for recycling since it launched in June 2018,” Ms Smalley said.

“The ACT scheme also has one of the highest redemption rates in the country, with the latest 12-month rolling redemption rate at 75 per cent. That’s three in every four drink containers supplied into ACT being redeemed through the scheme.”

Independent Australian owned business, Container Deposit Systems, reported the ACT as having the second highest overall recycling rate, coming in a clear second only to South Australia.

Canberrans appear to be on track to meet the ambitious target of a 90 per cent recycling rate by 2025.

ACT CDS fixed cost to remain for suppliers

Beverage suppliers can be relieved to see no price change for supplier contributions to the ACT Container Deposit Scheme (CDS), after transitioning to a fixed price by material type in February.

Exchange for Change (EfC) announced today, Thursday 31 March, that the current fixed price per material type for supplier contributions will remain for the next six months, effective for invoices used from August 2022.

Ms Smalley said EfC’s commitment to maintain long-term price certainty and stability is displayed through the decision to maintain the current fixed price.

“We hope today’s announcement of no change to the current supplier contribution pricing for the ACT scheme will help the beverage industry to maintain their own pricing stability in what is still an uncertain economic environment,” Ms Smalley said.

“Our aim remains to introduce a 12-month fixed price by material type once conditions are more predictable.”

The weighted average price per eligible drink container will continue to sit at 12.23c (excluding GST) in the ACT, inclusive of invoices issued between August 2022 to January 2023.

Operating on a cost-recovery basis, the supplier contribution is priced using extensive modelling, implementing over three years of scheme supply and redemption trend data.

Additionally, there’s been ample consultation with the beverage industry and research from consumers to understand likely future participation.

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