Wollongong residents could soon start collecting small change in exchange for plastic bottles, with the council voting to apply to be part of the state’s new container deposit scheme.
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Councillors on Monday unanimously supported a motion from Greens representative Jill Merrin, who said a introducing a container deposit scheme would help to reduce litter in the city by 12 to 15 per cent.
It would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save water, improve the air quality, reduce landfill and save ratepayers more than $59.8 million, she said.
“In NSW we recycle around 40 per cent of our drinks containers, [but] South Australia is famous and applauded for having a container deposit scheme in place over many years and they achieve a 70 to 80 per cent recycling rate,” she said.
David Brown noted preparing a submission to be part of the NSW Government’s drinks recycling system could help reduce roadside rubbish across Wollongong.
Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery agreed, saying the majority of rubbish around Lake Illawarra’s foreshore was made up of plastic drink containers. He also believed a container deposit scheme may be able to help local charities to raise money.
The NSW Government’s scheme is due to start in July 2017, however it is still unclear exactly how the scheme will work.