Deposit site coming soon
First bottles to be accepted from November 1
WHEN Queensland introduces its container refund scheme on November 1, Toowoomba will be one of the first areas in to receive a processing depot.
Reverse vending company TOMRA, which runs similar facilities in New South Wales, will open a depot in Toowoomba on James St.
The depot will be equipped with between nine to 12 reverse vending machines, a drop and run bag drop system and high volume bulk sorting capabilities. A smartphone app will allow refunds to made electronically.
Under the container refund scheme, consumers will receive a 10-cent refund in exchange for eligible bottles and cans.
TOMRA Australia president Ryan Buzzell said the business had 82,000 reverse vending machines installed throughout the world and captured 35 billion used beverage containers every year.
“We are proud to be a partner in the container refund scheme in Queensland, and look forward to building on our results in New South Wales and leveraging the learning from our first-hand experience in Australia,” Mr Buzzell said.
“Giving containers a value shows that these items are not simply litter, but an important resource – making recycling personally relevant and rewarding for consumers.
“A container refund scheme is the best way to achieve closed-loop recycling, reducing the need for raw materials and addressing key environmental challenges such as litter in our communities, landfill capacity and ocean pollution.”
The Queensland scheme was developed by a group of independent and beverage industry representatives.
TOMRA will operate 10 depots around the Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba areas.