Many have expressed concern over the detrimental effects of replacing refillables with one-trip containers. Consumer groups [1], the environment movement [2, p.66] and local government [2, p.67] in particular have been outspoken - especially in pushing for Container Deposit Legislation (CDL) to reverse this undesirable trend.
Vigorously opposed to any such regulation, the beverage and container manufacturing industries have been devious in their attempts to avoid CDL - even to the point of funding the New South Wales Government to operate the 'Do the Right Thing' (put it in the bin) program "conditional on CDL not being introduced" [3, p.31].
However, with the alarming rate of growth in waste generation [4, p.13-16] and coinciding escalation of concern for the environment, the NSW community is now exerting great pressure to have effective waste minimisation policies introduced.
For a number of years, voluntary container collection and recycling schemes have been favoured by most state governments, including NSW. Unfortunately, voluntary schemes achieve low recovery rates. On the other hand, while many advocate the outright banning of certain products or materials, the mere mention brings shrieks of abhorrence from industry.
Between these extremes, CDL is an effective and responsible waste reduction initiative. In contrast to the voluntary approach, CDL ensures nearly 100% of deposit-bearing containers are diverted from the waste stream and returned to their originators - who can then choose to reuse or recycle them or bear the costs associated with their disposal. Ultimately, CDL encourages a shift back to reusable containers made from recyclable materials.
While waste is an important issue and needs to be addressed with great urgency, CDL offers many other benefits. The seemingly overwhelming environmental, employment, economic and social problems presently challenging society can all benefit from the introduction of CDL.
This report explains how CDL can play a vital role in reducing waste, and more widely in our quest for a responsible and sustainable society.