20 April 2023
In an Australian-first, the Queensland Government has announced that the state’s container refund scheme (CRS), Containers for Change, will expand to include glass wine and spirit bottles from 1 November 2023.
This means Queenslanders will get 10 cents for every glass wine and spirit bottle deposited at one of over 360 container refund points found across the state.
Wildlife Queensland and the Boomerang Alliance congratulate Queensland on being the first state to include wine and spirit bottles in the CRS.
Glass beer bottles are already part of the CRS and attract a 10-cent refund, so it makes sense to include wine and spirit bottles too, said Boomerang Alliance Campaign Manager Toby Hutcheon.
Consultation with the Queensland community showed a high level of support to expand the CRS, with close to 100 per cent of 6,600 Queenslanders backing the expansion of the scheme to include more containers.
Containers for Change has recovered more than 6.4 billion containers since its launch in Queensland in 2018, refunding more than $630 million to Queenslanders.
Saving (more) valuable recyclable material
Glass bottles collected will be used in bottle-to-bottle manufacturing or as a virgin sand replacement in roads and filtration systems.
“Mixed glass collected for recycling remains a problem, so including more glass in the CRS, where quality and value are retained, will make recycling easier and help the industry,” said Hutcheon.
Recycling glass containers helps wildlife
Including glass wine and spirit bottles in the CRS from 1 November 2023 means there’s more financial opportunity for collectors and more funding for community groups such as Wildlife Queensland.
“Wildlife Queensland strongly endorses the Queensland Government’s decision to expand the CRS to include glass wine and spirit bottles,” said Wildlife Queensland Policies & Campaigns Manager Des Boyland.
“Less glass litter means less pollution in our environment harming wildlife.”
To help Wildlife Queensland protect and conserve Queensland’s native wildlife, you can:
- keep plastic and glass litter out of our environment by recycling eligible containers
- donate your Containers for Change refund to Wildlife Queensland and help to provide vital on-ground conservation actions to protect threatened species. Every little bit helps.
Glass wine and spirit bottles will not be accepted at Queensland refund points before 1 November 2023. These glass bottles can still be placed in the kerbside recycling bin.