Congratulations Wingecarribee! In the five years since the NSW Government's Return and Earn container deposit scheme commenced, the Southern Highlands community has reduced landfill by recycling more than 38 million containers of waste through Return and Earn since December 2017.
That is enough waste to fill 240 garbage trucks or remove 1,696 cars from our roads for a year. The environmental benefits this effort equates to are:
December 2022 marked five years since the commencement of the container deposit scheme, which allows people to collect eligible bottles and cans and take them to a Return and Earn return point for a refund.
The NSW Government's Return and Earn initiative aims to reduce the more than 160 million drink containers that end up discarded on NSW streets, in waterways, and in parks across the state every year. In addition to the environmental benefits the scheme has also returned valuable funds to charities and community groups across NSW and the Southern Highlands.
Wingecarribee Shire has three Return and Earn return points, both Reverse Vending Machines: