Toowoomba Ready for Refund Scheme
From 1 November, there will be various refund points in Toowoomba where you can collect 10cents for each empty drink container you return, through the Container Refund Scheme.
The brand – Containers for Change – announced on August 23, promotes the 10 cents that people will receive when they return an eligible container, and details the benefits that the scheme will deliver for the environment, communities and charities, such as increasing Queensland’s recycling rate and boosting business and fundraising opportunities for community groups.
E&E Waste is an Authorised Container Refund Point for Toowoomba offering a full service depot at 12 Kimberley Court, a convenient location with ample parking. Customers can bring the containers they or their club have collected and get a refund with a minimum of fuss.
They also manage the refund point in Goondiwindi and processing facilities and logistics for the scheme for the Darling Downs and South West Queensland.
Eligible containers
The refund applies to most plastic bottles, aluminium cans, glass bottles, steel and paperboard containers between 150mL and 3 litres. For details go to eewaste.com.au/returnem Containers NOT eligible are those which aren’t commonly found in litter, and are most often recycled in council yellow-top bins. They include:
• Milk containers
• Wine and spirits bottles
• Large containers (1L or more) for flavoured milk, juice, cask wine or cask water
• Cordial or vegetable juice containers
• Wine sachets above 250mL
• Health tonics
• Containers smaller than 150mL or larger than 3 litres
Return’em for cash
You can take eligible containers to any of the 3 designated refund points in Toowoomba. These will provide a range of depots, ‘bag drops’, and reverse vending machines, some of which dispense supermarket coupons.
In addition, schools, community groups or charities may
operate donation points for containers, allowing them to raise money by collecting the refunds.
At 12 Kimberley Court E&E Waste has an easy access, full service facility where individuals, clubs, schools and charities can come in, drop off their containers, get them counted and have funds transfered to their account. Individuals will be able to get instant cash for their containers. E&E is encouraging everyone to bring their containers in and Return’em for Cash! After discussions with many schools and clubs in the district, Shane McGuire the Managing Director of E&E Waste says “We will also be providing full support, including loan trailers, to community groups interested in scaling up their fund raising activities by using the refund scheme”.
Currently E&E Waste are manually sorting the incoming containers, but within a few months we will be installing state-of-the-art sorting equipment and self serve machines with ATM style refund points. We have an army of trained staff with manual sorting skills to back up the operation.
Getting paid
You may receive cash or vouchers from some over-thecounter drop-off points, but in most cases, the refunds will be deposited into your account, or you may have the option to donate the refund to your preferred charity or organisation.
The preferred method will be an account transfer (EFT) to ensure there is an “audit trail” and minimise the chance of fraud. Everyone can register and get a “Scheme ID” number at containersforchange.com.au making it easy to collect your refund.
At E&E Waste’s Return’em Depot you can get cash on the spot or choose EFT. To avoid any misunderstandings, there is no cash available to charities or clubs, these will have to be registered for EFT transfer.
Fundraising power
Containers For Change are encouraging charities, clubs, schools and community groups to register with the scheme. It’s a great way for organisations to supercharge their fundraising efforts.
E&E Waste are ready to assist these organisations by providing educational material and info sessions, or even practical things like bins and bags to help them sort their containers. For more info call Danny Hamilton on 4633 0723.
E&E Waste will pay charitable organisations and clubs using only EFT, so it’s very important to register yours at: containersforchange.com.au under the section called “Signup for your scheme account”.
Helpful tips when returning
From November 1 you can visit E&E Waste’s Return ‘em Depot with your containers. There’s just a couple of hints to make things more convenient for you and less difficult for us, such as:
• REMOVE ALL LIDS
• Empty all contents (rinsing isn’t necessary)
• Broken glass is dangerous for you and us, so please don’t bring it
• Sorting your containers into their categories – cans, glass, plastic and others – will speed up the process
• Don’t crush or squash containers, it makes them harder to count
• Bring only Eligible Containers – For details go to returnem.com.au
• Register for a ‘Scheme ID’ number at Containers For Change before you arrive at the drop-off point
With around three billion drinks containers eligible for a refund in Queensland, if only 10% of these are given as donations to community collectors, that will be $30 million going to the community sector in Queensland every year.