The organisation provides a range of services to assist Indigenous people, especially youths, with employment. The ACT Container Deposit Scheme has given them a way to raise a bit of extra money for incidental expenses. It has also become a path for some of the young people to develop skills and take on responsibilities. 

 “By collecting bottles and cans around our office, we were able to provide some local Indigenous youth with money to purchase their phone credits and other nice-to-haves which they would not otherwise get.” said Managing Director Colin Williams. 

“The scheme also provides them with the structure and necessary work ethic which can be used in the workforce.’ 

All the staff at the office deposit bottles and cans in the designated bin, but it’s the young clients who are responsible for the entire process of sorting and returning the containers,” says Colin. 

“The concept is to provide a framework which allows them to practice being independent and solely responsible for a task, and to work through a process which can provide them with life skills,” he said. 

So far more than 5,000 containers have been recycled by the Corroboree Group, raising $500 for the youths who manage the process. 

The recycling also ties into the organisation’s environmental policy, as they are consistently looking for ways to reduce waste and lighten their impact on the environment.  

“We now produce far less waste at the office and are more conscious of the waste that is being produced. 

“Simply, this is a useful exercise. It has cut the amount of waste in our bins enormously and it encourages the Indigenous youth who participate to be a part of something productive. Hopefully, we can make this something bigger in the future,” Colin said. 

Get involved with the ACT Container Deposit Scheme or find your nearest return point.

The ACT CDS is a partnership between the ACT Government, scheme coordinator Exchange for Change and network operator Return-It.

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“We saw it as a great opportunity for us to raise awareness of recycling amongst our parishioners, as well as to provide some income for church projects,” says the church’s office manager, Bronwyn Parsons.

The church has a number of sites across the ACT, but Bronwyn says container returns have been especially popular in Page, where they have a large wheelie bin onsite at the church grounds for people to drop off their eligible cans and bottles. “We frequently advertise and remind folk through our weekly newsletter and Sunday announcements,” adds Bronwyn.

Bronwyn says parishioners enjoy being able to contribute in a tangible way and are kept informed about the total number of cans and bottles collected and money raised as a result of returning them via ACT CDS for 10 cents each.

“Elderly individuals and couples have particularly embraced the idea of recycling,” she says. “They see value in us pooling our recyclables for the greater good.”

Empty containers are returned at the Return-It Hawker Shops Drop & Go Pod and Belconnen cash-back depot by volunteers from the congregation. So far the church has collected more than 30,000 cans and bottles and earned more than $3,000 in funds.

The funds are earmarked for a new children’s playground at the Page church. The design for the playground is currently underway, with construction planned to commence next year. Bronwyn says it will be a wonderful addition for the numerous playgroups that use the facilities each week, as well as for the children who attend Sunday services with their families.

In the longer term, Bronwyn says funds raised through the container returns will be used to support the various community activities held each week at the church. These include English classes, a Creative Leisure craft group, as well as playgroups, and other children’s programs.

Interested in fundraising through the ACT CDS? Find out more on our Fundraising page.

The ACT CDS is a partnership between the ACT Government, scheme coordinator Exchange for Change and network operator Return-It.

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Ka Man Cheng, the shop manager, says the idea came from a staff member who pointed out they were using a lot of drink containers that could be recycled. Because the barber shop offers customers a complimentary drink while they get their hair cut – a beer, soft drink or bottle of water – they were going through 400 containers each week. 

Staff decided it would be well worth collecting and returning these containers to the ACT CDS. At 10 cents for each eligible bottle and can, that’s $40 of refunds each week that could be used for fun team activities. Staff used the free ACT CDS Business Toolkit posters to ensure they were collecting eligible drink containers and show their fundraising success each month with the milestone tracker.  

The staff manage the collections themselves and take turns returning the containers to the Return-It Cash-back Depot at Mitchell. The funds are spent on activities, such as evenings out as a team, says Ka Man. Often this is linked to motivational challenges, for example, the staff member who sells the most products or sees the most customers in a month might get to choose exactly how the funds are spent for that month. The initiative has now been running since mid-2019, meaning around 40,000 containers have been saved from landfill and staff have enjoyed a budget of $4,000 for their social events. 

Ka Man says this has been helpful in motivating staff and increasing productivity. It has also promoted good recycling practices. “Staff are making sure all the bottles and cans are collected,” he says. “Recycling has become routine in the shop – staff say, ‘don’t throw that away, it’s 10 cents’.” 

He adds that one of the biggest rewards is knowing that the steady stream of empty containers generated at the barber shop are being responsibly recycled. 

Find out how your business can get involved with the ACT CDS and download the business toolkit.

The ACT CDS is a partnership between the ACT Government, scheme coordinator Exchange for Change and network operator Return-It.

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But as well as running a business, Ismail and Jad are finding ways for their food truck to help make the world a better place. 

“We noticed at the end of each night how much of the waste was bottles and cans, and lots of people passing by the food truck would also toss their empty drink containers in our bins,” says Ismail. 

He decided to start returning the containers to the ACT Container Deposit Scheme (CDS), both to reduce waste going to landfill and also to raise money for charity with the 10 cent refund for each eligible container. Ismail and Jad decided to set up a dedicated container bin next to the Fares Bueller rubbish bin. 

The first month of fundraising was during Ramadan, so Ismail and Jad decided to send money to a charity for people who need assistance in Lebanon. They returned around 1,000 containers to the ACT CDS, which earned $100 in refunds, then matched that dollar for dollar for a total of $200 to donate. 

“Just $45 pays for a food hamper that will feed a family for a month,” says Ismail. 

Ismail says that the reduction in waste going to landfill from their bins is already noticeable. “It’s telling that when we go out to check the bins and the container bins are full and the other waste bin is low,” he says. “We’re now emptying our waste bin once every three months instead of once a month.” 

Ismail says awareness of the fundraising is growing after he and Jad posted about the container returns on social media. “We’ve had some customers really warm to it. I’ve noticed a few of them picking up littered cans from the ground to put into our container bins.” 

He and Jad are now both big advocates of the ACT CDS. “I’ve been to a lot of places, especially overseas, where waste is managed so poorly it affects the quality of life,” Ismail says. “We’re blessed to have this system in the ACT – it’s good for the environment and it’s social justice. It’s a win-win situation.”

They plan to donate to different causes each month, and Ismail says customers are already suggesting which charities to focus on next.

Find out how your business can get involved with the ACT CDS and download the business toolkit.

The ACT CDS is a partnership between the ACT Government, scheme coordinator Exchange for Change and network operator Return-It.

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The people at Crowne Plaza Canberra, however, have jumped on board the ACT Container Deposit Scheme (ACT CDS) and are not only recycling their eligible containers but are generously donating 100% of the refund to charity.

Crowne Plaza Canberra have located deposit bins in the service areas of each guest floor as well as in the restaurant and bar to collect bottles and other recyclable containers.

Crowne Plaza Canberra’s General Manager, Rob Stewart, has recently relocated back to the ACT from South Australia. He said he had “personally seen the success of the Container Deposit Scheme in Adelaide and saw the difference it made in the local community there and was delighted to see that this has also been implemented in our bush capital.”

They are donating all proceeds from the refund program to the St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn via the scheme. “As a part of the Canberra community, we think that the work that St Vincent De Paul do with their community programs is fantastic and we wanted to play our part in supporting these programs.”

Michelle Lauder, Crowne Plaza Canberra’s Marketing Manager, says Crowne Plaza and IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) are continually looking at ways to support the local community and reduce its environmental footprint. She sees participating in the scheme as “a way we can actively demonstrate our commitment to supporting our community and the local environment and also support our organisation’s commitment to sustainability.”

Implementing the scheme at Crowne Plaza Canberra is working smoothly and has been well received by the team. “We are very happy to see so many full bins being collected for recycling and our team are delighted to have the opportunity to play a part in assisting to raise funds to support St Vincent de Paul”, says Rob.

We here at the ACT CDS would enthusiastically welcome any other businesses who would like to both contribute to a charitable cause and help the environment at the same time. Find out how to become involved in this initiative here.

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