Central Goldfields residents continue to throw their support behind the Allan Labor Government’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) – returning more than 1.8 million cans, cartons and bottles to their local refund points since the program began in November last year.

The CDS is processing an average of around 10 million cans, cartons and bottles across the state every week, with Victorians returning an average of 129 containers per transaction.

More than 350 million containers have been returned state-wide. That’s more than $35 million back in the pockets of Victorians, and the figures will rise further as Victoria’s network of refund points continues to grow to meet demand, making the scheme the most convenient and accessible in the country.

Victorians can choose to pocket the refund or donate their containers to one of the 1600 participating charities, sports, community, environmental or educational groups.

Returned drink containers can be transformed into all kinds of new things, including material for roads, furniture, construction, textiles and more – creating new economic opportunities and will support more than 600 jobs across Victoria.

The Labor Government has invested $515 million to transform the Victoria’s waste and recycling system, helping us achieve our target of diverting 80 per cent of all material away from landfill by 2030. CDS Vic was designed to be the most accessible container deposit scheme in Australia, with collection points in convenient locations across regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne.

Victorians can now receive a 10-cent refund for every can, bottle or carton they recycle. Across the state, more than 100 million containers have been returned. Victorians can find their nearest refund point by visiting the scheme website www.cdsvic.org.au.

Quotes attributable to Member for Ripon Martha Haylett

“It is great to see so many Central Goldfields residents returning containers. People who’ve played a part in returning 1.8 million containers can be proud of their environmental efforts and benefit from the extra income. I’m proud of the community for getting behind this excellent initiative.”

“Zone Operators are continuing to refine the delivery of the network to meet high return volumes and add sites in additional key locations in Ripon. When fully rolled out in August 2024, there will be more than 600 refund points across the state, making the scheme widely accessible."