Tasmania’s Recycle Rewards scheme returns over one million containers

Tasmania's new container deposit scheme, Recycle Rewards saw Tasmanians return more than one million containers in just four days. The recycling effort contributes to decreasing landfill and preventing litter from impacting the environment and hurting wildlife.

The one-millionth deposit was made on Sunday morning at the scheme refund point located in the Cove Hill Precinct in Bridgewater.

Tasmanian Minister for the Environment, Madeleine Ogilvie, thanked Tasmanians for embracing the scheme with such enthusiasm and noted "One million containers and counting. I thank Tasmanians for getting behind Recycle Rewards and giving back to the environment and community.

"39% of refunds and donations were made via the Recycle Rewards app, demonstrating a high-level of digital literacy among our population."

Under Recycle Rewards, Tasmanians can choose to either receive a refund of 10 cents for every eligible container they deposit or donate the proceeds to one of over 120 official Donation Partners.

The three partners with the most donations to date are Tassie Mums, Landcare Tasmania, and the Burnie Men's Shed.

Of the over 1.2 million deposits made by the end of the day on Sunday, 594,253 were made in the South; 405,765 in the North; and 206,211 in the North West and on the West Coast.

Welcoming the key milestone was TasRecycle Chair Ben Kearney and TOMRA Cleanaway Chief Executive James Dorney.

Kearney shared "this is the start of an exciting future for the scheme in Tasmania, that benefits our environment and charity and community groups.”

Dorney added "we're proud to be making it easy for Tasmanians to return eligible drink containers as we continue to roll out the remaining refund points across this beautiful island state.’

Sunday was the busiest day for deposits during the four-day period with a total of 362,880 deposits being made that day.

The most popular container types deposited were aluminium (62%), followed by plastic (25%), glass (12%), and liquid paper board (1%).

There are currently 40 refund points across Tasmania, and a further nine will be installed by the end of August 2025.

For more information, including on how to become a donation partner