Since South Australia introduced CDL in 1975 (effective from 1977) it has stood head and shoulders above the rest of Australia in minimising beverage container litter and waste. And South Australians are exceedingly pleased with the simplicity and efficiency of their deposit-refund system, as evidenced by the fact that community support for it is a phenominal 95 percent! As a consequence, SA's CDL also enjoys bi-partisan political support.
Its recent incorporation into SA's Environment Protection Act firmly entrenches it as Australia's most effective beverage container litter and waste reduction measure, and a model for other states, and Australia as a whole, to base similar legislation upon.
The Act: SA's Environment Protection Act 1993 - Beverage Containers (Sect 65-73)
The Facts: Achievements & Successes ; General Information ; Return Systems ; Super Collectors
The Future: Environment South Australia (April 1997): The Two Dogs Experience
Additional information specific to Container Deposit Legislation in SA can be obtained from Steve Smith, SA's "Container Beverage Collection Coordinator", or by telephoning the Recycling and Waste Branch on either +61-8-8204-2041 or 2099.
Copies of the Beverage Containers Provisions and Regulations of the Environment Protection Act, 1993, may be obtained from the State Information Centre, Ground Floor, Australis House, 77 Grenfell Street, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia.