If you are one of ACT’s smart recyclers and return your eligible drink containers to the Fyshwick Depot, you will meet some very friendly workers who love their job.
Matthew, Tina and Dave are employed by LEAD, an NDIS registered organisation that works with local businesses and government to provide employment opportunities to people with a disability. The ACT Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) is one of those opportunities.
Matthew loves his new role at the Fyshwick depot. ‘I like working with disability people from the LEAD office. It’s a very good job – helping people.’
Dave likes the social interaction and the sense of purpose his role provides, and that the recycling scheme promotes work opportunities.
The staff provide daily support by counting and sorting the containers, then tipping them into the correct bulker bags. When it’s busy they also help out the front, meeting and interacting with members of the ACT community who are dropping off their recyclables.
Garett, the Return-It Manager at Fyshwick, says it’s a rewarding process for everybody: the LEAD employees, the Return-It staff and the community. ‘Oh, we love having them here. They brighten up our days – it’s lovely being able to work with people, and make them so happy as well, because you can see how much they’re getting [out of it]. And also people that come in off the street [customers/recyclers] they love having that interaction as well. They just help us so much – it’s great to have them here.”
When asked what she enjoys most about working in the Bulk Depot, Tina, a keen Raiders fan, responded ‘Everything!’
You can find out details about the Fyshwick depot.
