By Charlotte Sterrett.

Woohooo! We’re super excited to hear that the Victorian Government’s Container Deposit Scheme will kick off on 1 November — with 10 cent refunds for bottles, cans and cartons!

This is great news for our community, our economy, and our environment. This scheme aims to encourage more and better recycling, fewer waste materials, and less litter. It will create hundreds of new jobs and economic opportunities across Victoria and pave the way for a cleaner and greener state.

The scheme targets beverage containers that most commonly contribute to litter and are often consumed away from home. This includes plastic soft drink bottles, glass beer bottles, soft drinks and alcohol sold in cans, and small fruit juice cartons.

How does it work? It’s simple! You purchase a drink, return the empty container to a refund collection point, and receive a 10-cent refund for every eligible container you return. You can choose to keep the funds or donate them to a participating charity, community group, environmental group, educational organisation, or sports group.

Please think of your Yarra Riverkeepers – we will use your deposit towards a healthy, loved and protected Birrarung / Yarra!

Any returned container will be given a new lease on life by being recycled and remanufactured into a new product, saving it from landfill or littering the environment.

We’ll be monitoring the impact of this scheme on your Birrarung / Yarra and we hope it will massively reduce the amount of litter in your river.

Photo: Ula Majewski