Australians are throwing away cash by recycling eligible drink containers the wrong way, and momentum is building behind a plan to double the 10‑cent refund to 20 cents to boost household budgets and lift recycling rates.
Fresh data from Victoria shows close to 60 per cent of residents are mishandling eligible drink cartons and forfeiting refunds.
While flavoured milk cartons up to 750ml can be returned through Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme, a survey found around 49 per cent are being tossed into kerbside recycling and a further 10 per cent sent straight to landfill.
Small juice boxes are also tripping people up, with 40 per cent placed in recycling and 10 per cent put into landfill, despite both being accepted in Victoria and at New South Wales’ Return and Earn depots.
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Most people don’t realise they’ve paid a 10 cent deposit on flavoured milk and juice boxes.
Since Victoria’s program began in November 2023, close to three billion containers have been returned.
VicReturn chief executive Matt Davis – whose company collected the data – said it takes time for participants to learn what’s in and what’s out.
“Whether it’s soft drink bottles, beer bottles, or bottles of water, when people think about containers, they’re the first ones that people think about,” he told Yahoo News.
“Other beverages that Victorians may consume less frequently, like juice and milk, are probably a bit less clear for people.”
Flavoured milk cartons are being put in the red and yellow bin, instead of being returned for a deposit. Source: CDS
His advice is simple: look at the label – if it has the 10‑cent mark on it, it’s eligible to be returned.
VicReturn data shows aluminium accounts for 49 per cent of returns through refund points in Victoria, PET plastic 31 per cent and glass 17 per cent.
Liquid paperboard – the juice and milk cartons causing confusion – is severely under‑represented at just 2 per cent, with HDPE at 1 per cent, steel at 0.2 per cent, other materials at 0.1 per cent and other plastics at 0.05 per cent.
Eligibility traps and crushed containers
Confusion is also seeing the wrong items taken to depots, with about 18 per cent of Victorians attempting to return ineligible containers.
While most cans, bottles and small beverage containers are eligible, several everyday items are not.
Nathan and Daniel Porter are super can and bottle recyclers and are getting 10 cents for every can and bottle they collect. Picture: Josie Hayden
Large flavoured milk and juice containers, cordial bottles, wine and spirit bottles, and bottles under 150ml fall outside the schemes, and plain milk bottles and cartons are excluded because they’re typically consumed at home and intended for kerbside recycling.
Another trap is crushing – in most cases, crushed containers will be rejected.
National schemes and the dollars at stake
Every state and territory now runs a 10‑cent refund scheme for eligible drink containers, generally covering sizes from roughly 150ml to 3L with some variations and exclusions.
They operate as Return and Earn in NSW, CDS Vic in Victoria, Containers for Change in Queensland and Western Australia, the long‑running Container Deposit Scheme in South Australia, CDS Tasmania, the ACT Container Deposit Scheme, and the Northern Territory Container Deposit Scheme.
Approximately 4.23 billion valuable containers are still ending up in landfill despite thousands of public deposit points. Source: NSW Government
For households, the maths is straightforward: 100 containers yields $10; 1000 containers yields $100.
Yet while the refund has stayed at 10 cents, its purchasing power has fallen with inflation, fuelling calls to raise it.
Why doubling the refund is back on the table
While Australia’s container return rate sits at about 68 per cent, it is well behind countries like Germany and Slovakia which exceed 90 per cent.
Campaigners want governments to double the refund to 20 cents to bridge the gap.
Robert Kelman, Director at Reloop Pacific, told Yahoo News around 12 billion drink containers are covered by the schemes each year, so a median return rate of 68 per cent leaves roughly 4.23 billion valuable containers going to landfill or into the environment annually.
He argues lifting the refund to 20 cents could push return rates to 90 per cent and add another 2.8 billion bottles and cans to the recycling stream every year.
Kelman also pointed to Redbridge research showing 65 per cent of respondents believe a 20‑cent refund would ease financial pressure.
“Additionally, this increased refund would provide substantial new funding opportunities for thousands of charities, community groups, and sporting clubs across the country,” he said.
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