Containers for Change
© Canva NFP
Your change can make a BIG difference
Containers for Change, Queensland’s container refund scheme, was introduced on 1 November 2018 to help clean up our state. The scheme aims to increase recycling rates and reduce litter by encouraging Queenslanders to exchange eligible drink containers for a 10-cent refund.
You can help our environment and its wildlife by recycling eligible drink containers
You can donate your 10-cent refund to Wildlife Queensland when you recycle your bottles and cans. It doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up quickly, and every bit helps to protect and conserve our native wildlife.
Two ways your change will help wildlife
- You can donate your Containers for Change refund to Wildlife Queensland, and help to provide vital on-ground conservation actions to protect threatened species; and
- by recycling, you’re keeping plastics and glass litter out of our environment and protecting wildlife at the same time.
Did you know?
Queenslanders use nearly 3 billion drink containers each year.
3 easy steps to helping wildlife
Collect eligible containers
Most aluminium, glass, plastic, steel and liquid paperboard drink containers between 150ml and 3L are eligible.
Return your containers
There are four different types of container refund points across Queensland, so find the right one for you. Plus, C4C now offers a free home collection service, Container Collect, in selected suburbs.
Earn a refund or donate to Wildlife Queensland
You’ll receive 10 cents for every eligible container you return which you can keep or donate.
How do I donate my Containers for Change refund to Wildlife Queensland?
- Find your nearest collection refund point.
- Use Wildlife Queensland’s scheme ID number: C10002920 to donate your refund. You can also save the image with our ID number to your phone for quick and easy reference.

What containers are eligible?
Not all containers are eligible for the 10c refund.
Find out more about eligible containers.
With more than 360 refund sites across the state, you’ll find a Containers for Change collection point not far from you.
Latest container refund scheme news
Rethinking waste this National Recycling Week
This National Recycling Week, 7-13 November 2022, Planet Ark is asking all Australians to rethink their waste and see it as a resource that can be turned into new products.
Container for Change scheme has recycled 5 billion bottles!
More than $500 million has gone back into the pockets of Queenslanders with the Palaszczuk Government announcing five billion containers have been refunded through its popular Containers for Change scheme.
Queensland Expanding Single-Use Plastics Ban
Wildlife Queensland and the Boomerang Alliance of 56 NGOs have welcomed the announcement of consultation on a second nation-leading tranche of single-use plastic items to be banned in Queensland. These items include problem plastics habitually littered or landfilled and polluting the marine environment.