Pact Group Holdings Ltd is supporting the launch of the 20 Cents Makes Sense campaign, which is calling for Australia’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) refund to increase from 10c to 20c.
The campaign also calls for CPI-indexed reviews of the refund amount.
According to the campaign, international container deposit schemes offering a 20c refund achieve return rates of more than 90 per cent, compared with Australia’s current rate of 68 per cent. It also points to existing 10c schemes that “underperform”, citing Queensland’s return rate of about 67 per cent.
Pact Group said the increase would deliver environmental, economic and community outcomes. The company said the change would reduce litter and carbon emissions and prevent billions of containers from entering the environment.
It also said a higher refund would “put more money directly into the pockets of everyday Australians”, support investment in recycling infrastructure, and create local jobs.
According to the campaign website, the value of the current 10c refund has declined since container deposit schemes were first introduced. The site states that doubling the refund could increase return rates to more than 90 per cent and divert hundreds of millions of containers from landfill.
It also says the change could cut litter by more than half and provide additional income for households, charities and community fundraising activities.
The campaign website says returning 200 containers at a 20c refund would provide $40 back to participants, compared with $20 under the current system.
Pact Group is encouraging industry partners and community organisations to review the campaign’s evidence and support the proposed change.
