Container return bottle scheme policy should be re-prioritised

Tāmaki Makaurau - The Kiwi bottle drive, the community campaign advocating for a beverage container return scheme (CRS), is urging  government to re-prioritise the policy following last week’s decision to put it on hold.

“After all the progress, and all the research that has gone into developing a container return scheme (CRS) for Aotearoa, it was devastating to hear this popular and much-needed policy has gone on the back-burner” Olga Darkadaki, campaigner at the Kiwi bottle drive says.

Deposit return schemes for drinks is - where consumers pay a deposit when they buy a beverage that is redeemed when returned to a retailer or recycling centre. It is considered by many as a popular and uncontentious policy.

A consumer survey by Kantar/Consumer Link in September last year 2022 showed 78 percent of those surveyed support a CRS.

Support was so strong that consumers thought the deposit should be set at a higher amount (30c) than the government’s proposed 20c.

A CRS was de-prioritised based on the argument that it will increase costs to households during the cost of living crisis, but what that misses is that our current recycling system costs more per container than a CRS would, and delivers worse outcomes, Darkadaki.

“Only 45 percent of beverage containers are being recovered in New Zealand and the other 55 percent end up as landfill or litter.

A CRS could lift recovery rates to 85-90 percent and shift the costs of recovery onto producers and consumers where it belongs, rather than have councils and ratepayers picking up the bill.”

Tāmaki Makaurau - The Kiwi bottle drive, the community campaign advocating for a beverage container return scheme (CRS), is urging  government to re-prioritise the policy following last week’s decision to put it on hold.

“After all the progress, and all the research that has gone into developing a container return scheme (CRS) for Aotearoa, it was devastating to hear this popular and much-needed policy has gone on the back-burner” Olga Darkadaki, campaigner at the Kiwi bottle drive says.

Deposit return schemes for drinks is - where consumers pay a deposit when they buy a beverage that is redeemed when returned to a retailer or recycling centre. It is considered by many as a popular and uncontentious policy.

A consumer survey by Kantar/Consumer Link in September last year 2022 showed 78 percent of those surveyed support a CRS.

Support was so strong that consumers thought the deposit should be set at a higher amount (30c) than the government’s proposed 20c.

A CRS was de-prioritised based on the argument that it will increase costs to households during the cost of living crisis, but what that misses is that our current recycling system costs more per container than a CRS would, and delivers worse outcomes, Darkadaki.

“Only 45 percent of beverage containers are being recovered in New Zealand and the other 55 percent end up as landfill or litter.

A CRS could lift recovery rates to 85-90 percent and shift the costs of recovery onto producers and consumers where it belongs, rather than have councils and ratepayers picking up the bill.”