Make Cents not Waste! Envirobank Recycling named major network provider of container refund points for Queensland Government’s Container Refund Scheme

SYDNEY, Australia – Friday 28 September, 2018 – Australia’s most innovative recycling company, Envirobank Recycling, announced it has been appointed by Queensland’s established Product Responsibility Organisation, Container Exchange (CoEx), as a major network provider of container collection points for the state’s Container Refund Scheme (CRS).

 

Envirobank will provide a minimum of 48 container collection points along the Queensland coast spanning Cairns, Townsville, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Collection points will include Coles supermarket locations; community collection points with not-for-profit partners such as Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ), and three large-scale automated depots for bulk processing of large quantities by businesses or community groups. 

 

Alby Taylor, Acting Chair Container Exchange, said the criteria for selecting operators was an extensive process designed to meet customer needs.

 

“Our tender process generated a lot of interest from both small and large operators and in the end it came down to ensuring we provided the best service to the Queensland public.

 

“We have listened to the feedback from other states and in Queensland you will see a lot more mobile collections to ensure we can get to as many people as possible wanting a refund,” Mr Taylor said.

 

“We will have depot sites as well as bag drop options in many communities, with many operations benefiting local community groups and charities,’ he said.

 

The Queensland CRS, launching 1 November, has been designed to play a major role in reducing beverage container litter across the State. Drink containers are the second most commonly littered item in Queensland (after cigarette butts) with approximately 2.4 billion generated annually.  Nearly all drink containers can be recycled however most are not, ending up in landfill, or polluting the natural environment and littering streets, parks and waterways.

 

Under the new scheme, empty eligible drink containers with an approved refund mark can be returned to a container refund point for a 10-cent refund. Payment is made through a variety of ways including cash, retail vouchers, or digital payments such as a Scheme ID or PayPal account. Envirobank offers all payment methods at each of its sites.

 

Customer convenience with Coles Collection Points

Collection points will be installed at Coles supermarkets and Queensland General Manager, Jerry Farrell, said the partnership was in line with the retailer’s sustainability commitments to improve recycling and reduce and divert waste from landfill. 

 

“Coles has made a public commitment to crush waste and reduce landfill, and our partnership with Envirobank in Queensland is a great opportunity for us to work with our customers to stop empty plastic containers ending up on the streets, our waterways or in landfill.

 

Accessible and convenient collection points will be installed at Coles supermarkets to make it easy for our customers to return their empty containers and reap the benefits.” 

 

Fundraising has never been so easy

The scheme also offers charities, not-for-profits and community groups an avenue for significant fundraising by setting up as ‘donation sites’.

Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) is one organisation with clear intentions to actively benefit from the scheme announcing clubs along the Queensland coast have signed up to work with Envirobank.

“Envirobank will deliver ‘donation sites’ and operate a mobile service of container refund points in select surf locations ensuring the public has even greater access to the scheme,” said Narelle Anderson, founder and managing director, Envirobank. “We’re also helping to keep the beach clean at the same time.”  

Surf Life Saving Queensland CEO, John Brennan OAM, is excited by the many benefits the CRS will have and said the partnership with Envirobank will help maximise those benefits for volunteer surf lifesavers.

 

“We are thrilled that the Container Refund Scheme is coming to Queensland and, by partnering with Envirobank, it means that each of our 58 clubs right up and down the Queensland coastline will have the opportunity to benefit financially.  Every valid container put in a donation point at one of our clubs is a new stream of income that will be re-invested straight back into their lifesaving work in their local community. It’s a benefit to the environment, to our members and to all beachgoers across Queensland,” said Mr Brennan OAM.

 

According Ms Anderson, in other states where container deposit schemes are already operational, charitable donations comprise the major component of the public’s reimbursements. 

 

“Envirobank has been a long-term network operator in the Northern Territory Scheme and it’s evident the program is much more than a litter reduction initiative,” said Ms Anderson. “With the right partnerships in place the Scheme has the potential to raise substantial funds for many charities that deliver the vital services we need in our communities.”   

 

Ms Anderson also said her goal is to make collecting refunds super easy for the public, so they can be rewarded for the good they are doing toward protecting our environment and recycling.

 

“We are always dreaming up new ways to ensure people not only get convenient access to the scheme, but also choose the way they want to get their refunds,” said Ms Anderson.

 

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About Narelle Anderson and Envirobank Recycling

In 2000 Narelle became the first aboriginal woman to solely own a waste management company. A recipient of many entrepreneurial and environmental awards Narelle is a current board member of The Australian Council of Recyclers (ACOR), the peak industry body representing the recycling sector of Australia. She was also a founding board member of the Green Building Council of Australia. 

 

Envirobank Recycling is Australia’s most innovative recycling company, combining technology with Australians’ desire to recycle. Founded in 2008 to incentivise recyclers, it specialises in large, automated, high-speed collection points. Envirobank introduced the concept of Reverse Vending Technology to

Australia, operating this type of technology for more than a decade. Envirobank’s ultimate vision is to change the way Australians recycle and reward people for the good they do. For more information visit www.envirobank.com.au.