CONTAINER DEPOSIT LEGISLATION
Container deposit legislation are laws passed by city, state,
provincial, or national governments that require that deposit on
carbonated, milk, water or alcoholic beverage containers be collected
when the beverage is sold. When the container is returned to an
authorized redemption center, or the original seller in some
jurisdictions, the deposit is partially or completely refunded to the
consumer.
Governments may pass container deposit legislation for several
reasons:
- To encourage recycling and complement existing curbside
recycling programs;
- To specifically reduce beverage container litter along highways,
in lakes and rivers, and on other public or private properties
(where beverage container litter occurs, a nominal deposit provides
an economic incentive to clean it up; this is in fact a significant
source of income to some homeless individuals and non-profit civic
organizations);
- To extend the usable lifetime of taxpayer-supported community or
regional landfills,
- To protect children by effectively reducing the incidence of
glass lacerations in childhood.
Deposits that are not redeemed are often used by the governmental
entity involved to fund environmental programs; sometimes they are used
to cover the costs of processing returned containers.
The state of South Australia has a refund of 5 cents per can or
bottle. It will be raised to 10c in late 2008. In the 1970s deposits
ranged from 20c for a 30 oz bottle and 10c for a 10 oz and 6 1/2 oz
bottle. With the introduction of plastic and non re-usable bottles the
deposit was reduced to 5c (including aluminium cans).
A recent innovation has seen the deposit extended to paper cartons
example flavoured milk and orange juice. The Beverage Container Act 1975
(SA) governs the levying and refund of deposits. The value of deposits
and the scope of their application have been influenced by the
Australian federal constitution's guarantee of free trade between the
states. The defining case in this issue was the attempt to introduce a
differential between re-usable and re-cyclable bottle deposits. The
issue was taken to the High Court of Australia - Castle Maine Tooheys
Ltd v South Australia.
Around 600 people are employed in the recovery of bottles in South
Australia. Groups such as the Scouts operate container refund depots.
While there are professional collectors who collect on an arranged basis
from particular venues (example pubs and restaurants), usually operating
small trucks for the job, there are also many socially marginalized
collectors who forage in refuse bins etc for discarded deposit bottles;
these collectors often travel by bicycle, sometimes with relatively
elaborate and inventive modifications to allow them to carry the bulky
loads of bottles they find.
Attempts to introduce similar legislation in other states have been
unsuccessful to date.
South Australia's container deposit legislation scheme (CDL) was
expanded in January 2003 following extensive industry and stakeholder
consultation, including an independent review of the economic and
environmental impacts of the beverage container provisions of the
Environment Protection Act.
What the scheme covers
CDL in South Australia now captures a broader range of beverage
containers that contribute to the litter stream, particularly flavoured
milk and pure fruit juice in containers with a capacity of less than one
litre.
Non-carbonated, soft (non-alcoholic) drinks such as vitamin drinks,
sports drinks, iced teas, fruit drinks, and other soft beverages in
containers with a capacity up to and including three litres are now also
included within the scheme.
Plain milk remains outside the scope of the legislation, which also
specifically exempts pure fruit juice and flavoured milk in containers
with a capacity of one litre or greater.
CDL is compatible with the commitments and objectives of the National
Packaging Covenant and National Environment Protection Measure (NEPM) on
Used Packaging Materials.
|
