On Tuesday May 29 at 10:00am AEST, Boomerang Alliance and a small delegation of supporters in costumes with a 3 metre long Coke bottle will present the Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews at his electorate office in Noble Park with 12 large bags filled with beverage containers collected on tour as a token of the resounding message received from the people of Victoria - "We demand a container deposit scheme now!"
Travelling over 2500kms in April 2018, the Big Bottle visited 10 towns across the state asking Victorians their views on a container deposit scheme (CDS). Not only were people and local councils overwhelmingly in support, they readily expressed their frustration at the inactivity from successive governments.
Victoria will soon be the only mainland state without a 10 cents container deposit scheme. Victorians are calling on the state government to implement a container deposit legislation without further delay. A container deposit scheme will reduce litter, increase recycling rates, decrease the contamination rate and provide great fundraising opportunities for charity and community groups, especially in regional areas.
*Containers delivered will include plastic and aluminium containers only. All glass containers collected were recycled locally.
Comments
James Sinnamon
Sun, 2018-06-03 14:22
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The Coca-Cola Corporation killed our recycling scheme in 1967
Whilst this is a great initiative by all the mainland states of Australia except for Daniel Andrews' Victoria, a deposit of 10c is nowhere near enough. Back around the middle of the 1960's, I recall getting 3c or 5c deposit for reach returned soft-drink bottle. [1] I think the deposit for each bottle in 2018 should be at least 50c, given that the Australian dollar has depreciated to roughly 1/10 of its 1966 value. I also think that such an amount would more accurately reflect the actual cost of manufacturing a good quality re-usable beverage container. [2]
The deposit scheme, which allowed myself and other kids to get extra pocket money by collecting discarded soft-drink bottles, came to an end after 1966 or 1967 (from my recollection), when, suddenly, the Coca-Cola corporation stridently announced on a large-scale television promotion that:
I somehow doubt that other soft drink consumers shared the excitement of the Coca-Cola Corporation at this new initiative. My own heart sank, seeing an end to my additional earnings from refunded soft-drink bottles. So, instead of beverage containers being returned and reused, they were, from then on, to be added to our landfill, urban environment, parklands, bush and oceans, whilst an ever greater quantity of raw materials were to be extracted from the earth to replace the discarded cans and bottles.
Footnotes
[1] Soft-drinks, which contain sugar, are a major health hazard. They are particularly harmful to diabetics and could cause a non-diabetic to become diabetic. If people drink soft drinks, they should be of a variety which contain no sugar. One product with artificial sweetener and no other additives is Waterfords mineral waters.
[2] Back in the mid-90's, I think, somebody put forward a proposal that all beverages be stored in standardised refundable beverage containers. If all beverage producers were able to use the same container to store a given volume of beverage, then the cost of producing that beverage would be substantially reduced. Whilst, by my recollection, this proposal received some prominence in the national newsmedia for a while, it seems to have been quitely dropped and forgotten. I would greatly appreciate if If anyone else could confirm this and other recollections of mine and, possibly, provide greater detail.
James Sinnamon
Sun, 2018-06-03 21:54
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Victorian rates to rise as China no longer accepts our recycling
From Victorian councils expected to raise rates as China recycling crisis takes hold (21/4/18) ABC News :
Victorian homeowners will ultimately bear the brunt of China's decision to ban foreign waste, with the state's peak local government body estimating ratepayers will be stung an extra $60 a year to cover recycling costs.
The Municipal Association of Victoria is expecting ratepayers across the state to fork out an extra $1 a week to keep up their kerbside recycling services.
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Comment: From the above, it seems that Victorian ratepayers are now expected to bear more of the cost for the disposal of non-reusable containers in which food and beverage producers store their products
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