Chapter 2: Whatever Happened To Refillables?

Chapter 2

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO REFILLABLES?

The advent and growth of the 'throwaway society' in the United States during the 1950s and 60s caused many problems. Not the least of these was the damaging effect on employment and the environment of a dramatic decline in the use of refillable glass bottles. Despite the US experience however, both the United Kingdom and later Australia (during the 70s) followed the US example - experiencing precisely the same trends.

While the shift away from refillables was hastened by container manufacturers, who recognised the opportunity to dramatically increase their profits, and supermarkets, who favoured a fast turnover of goods [5, p.21], small soft drink bottling companies claimed the move to one-way containers was part of a concerted effort by larger bottling companies to dominate the market [6, p.130].

As larger bottling companies expanded their market share and the geographic range of their distribution network, the convenience of one-way containers became even more attractive to them. But for them to succeed in local markets where refillables had a cost advantage, small bottlers had to be removed as a competitive force to enable the more expensive one-trip containers to monopolise the market [6, p.130].

Since the smaller companies could not afford the one-trip containers or the new high- speed equipment used for filling them, and because the move to one-way packaging favoured centralisation, small bottlers were either bought-up or forced out of business. As a result, from 1974 to 1989 the number of soft drink companies in New South Wales fell by 80% from 135 to just 27 [7] and the market for refillables was effectively destroyed. Today virtually no refillable beverage containers remain.

With no evidence to suggest that the growth of a refillable container system occurs other than by government action [5, p.27], Container Deposit Legislation has been successfully employed in many parts of the world. In Australia, CDL has been enacted in only one state. South Australia began operating CDL in 1977, primarily as a litter-control measure, to prevent the further penetration of disposables into their market. The success of CDL in SA is an example to the other states which have, as yet, failed to introduce it - mainly as a result of powerful lobbying by the beverage and container industries which claim it is expensive and impractical.

It is interesting to note that these same industries, who so vigorously condemn the deposit system now, voluntarily used deposits to ensure the return of their containers long before they introduced one-trip 'disposables'.