General News
15 November, 2023
“We’re quite blown away”
THE rollout of the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) in Terang has received widespread support. Cooinda held an official opening of the CDS standalone reverse vending machine in Terang this week. The reverse vending machine allows residents to collect...
THE rollout of the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) in Terang has received widespread support.
Cooinda held an official opening of the CDS standalone reverse vending machine in Terang this week.
The reverse vending machine allows residents to collect and cash-in on eligible drink bottles, cartons and cans for 10 cent per item.
Collected materials are sent off for recycling and can be back on shelves as soon as six to eight weeks later.
Refunds can be digitally accessed through the CDS Vic West mobile app in a direct transfer to your bank account, through cash redemption at Crawley’s Milkbar or can even be sent as a donation to local charities and groups.
In its first weeks the reverse vending machine in Terang has experienced a surge in use which has caught the attention of network operator TOMRA Cleanaway.
TOMRA Cleanaway general manager (Victoria) Tony Catania visited Terang this week as part of the official launch.
He said he was “delighted” with the smooth rollout in Terang, with widespread support from the community.
“We’re all quite blown away by the success in Terang, and also by the Cooinda story itself,” Mr Catania said.
“Cooinda has been here for almost 70 years and it’s quite incredible.
“On behalf of TOMRA Cleanaway we’re so delighted to be partnered with Cooinda, and also with Crawley’s Milkbar as redemption partner in town – we couldn’t do this without either.”
Mr Catania said more growth was expected in the region with an additional 40 refund point machines to be rolled out in the west zone before August 2024.
TOMRA Cleanaway was appointed network operator for the Victorian Container Deposit Scheme for approximately one-third of Victorians, covering both western Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne.
To date TOMRA Cleanaway has delivered 140 refund collection points across 28 Local Government areas, with an estimated half a billion containers expected to be produced by residents annually across the network.
Containers collected through the scheme are returned to TOMRA Cleanaway’s collection point network to be used to deliver recycled materials including plastic and glass bottles and cans.
The scheme is part of a $515 million investment from the Victorian Labor Government to transform the state’s waste and recycling system in a bid to divert material from landfill and in to recycling.
Cooinda general manager Phil Hose said he had been blown away by the early popularity of the scheme in Terang, with hundreds of locals having already used the machine.
“We’ve had a lot of customers in, especially last Sunday with people consistently coming in from open to close, so it’s been fantastic,” he said.
“We always had our eye on a project like this which fit so well with our existing program, and was a natural fit with the Cooinda ethos of building a better community and involving local people.
“It’s already proven that in spades.”
Mr Hose said the set-up process had been rigorous with some early hiccups, but overall had proven a significant boost with hundreds making use of the machine.
“It’s worked brilliantly with great support to get this up and running,” he said.
“I want to acknowledge the champions we’ve had in Cooinda participants who in many ways have pushed us through this project.
“We hope the first few weeks is an example of the capacity we can do here and we can continue to grow that.”
