Christmas Day is a time when many crack open a can, or two, or sip from a stubbie.
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While many of those drink containers would have ended up in household recycling bins, thousands were set aside and cashed in for a 10-cent refund at reverse vending machines (RVMs) across the Illawarra on Boxing Day.
Five RVMs – at Bulli, Corrimal, Fairy Meadow, Shellharbour and Wollongong – collected a total of 55,081 containers on December 26.
Boxing Day was the biggest day at most of the state’s RVMs since the NSW government’s container deposit scheme, dubbed Return and Earn, began on December 1.
Since that date, 13 million drink containers have been returned across the state, with more than 870,000 handed in at collection points on Boxing Day alone.
The scheme gives people a refund for most 150ml to three-litre drink containers.
DECEMBER 26 RETURNS
- Bulli – 7934
- Corrimal – 9460
- Fairy Meadow – 11,723
- Shellharbour – 12,361
- Wollongong – 13,603