MEDIA RELEASE FROM QUEENSLAND CONSUMER WATCHCALL FOR COMPULSORY CASH DEPOSITS ON QUEENSLAND BOTTLES
A call has been made for Queensland to follow South Australia with a 10 cent deposit on all plastic and glass bottles sold in the state.
South Australia has had compulsory bottle deposits in place since 1977 to encourage recycling and reduce waste.
Queensland Consumer Watch spokesman and Ipswich Councillor Paul Tully said the time had come for mandatory container deposit legislation in this state.
He said consumers would be encouraged to return all bottles as part of a major environmental initiative from Coolangatta to Cape York and west to Mt Isa.
"It is a tragedy that millions of empty bottles are dumped at land fills around Queensland every year when they could be recycled.
"We used to have bottle deposits in Queensland under a scheme managed by soft drink manufacturers.
"Generations of Queenslanders will remember the days when they could earn good pocket money by handing in bottles but that system was abolished thirty years ago."
Cr Tully said compulsory deposits on all drink containers would be a major boost for the environment as well as performing an educational role by encouraging everyone to recycle their waste containers.
He said littering would be reduced because people would have real incentive to cash in their bottles or for collectors to pick them up from the side of the road.
"South Australia's initiative is widely supported by local residents in that state and could be easily extended to the other states and territories.
"The only opponents of this measure are the big manufacturers and bottle users who have a vested interest in ignoring the environmental damage they are causing in order to maximise their profits," Cr Tully said.
He called for Queensland to go-it-alone if the Federal Government was not prepared to introduce national container deposit legislation.
LINK TO SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CONTAINER DEPOSIT LEGISLATION SCHEME: www.epa.sa.gov.au/cdl.html
PAUL TULLY - COORDINATOR
QUEENSLAND CONSUMER WATCH
PO BOX 1
18 QUEEN ST
GOODNA QLD 4300
TEL 07 3818 6900
FAX: 07 3818 1099
EMAIL: QueenslandConsumerWatch@gmail.com
WEB: www.QueenslandConsumerWatch.com
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