New South Wales residents have earned over $700 million through the return and earn scheme as the state reaches the seven billion drink container mark.
Environment Minister James Griffin said the scheme has become a part of life for NSW residents as 78% of the adults have participated with two-thirds of the participants doing so more than once a month. He also said it has improved the environment as the scheme has recorded a total reduction of 52% by volume of drink container litter in the environment and has delivered more than 625,000 tons in materials recycled.
The return and earn network not only improved the environment by reducing the amount of container litters in the environment, but it has also become a reliable source for fundraising activities in the communities of NSW such as the Starlight foundation, PCYC NSW etc.
Return and earn has become the state’s largest litter initiative and has shown how slight changes to our routine can have a significant collective impact. Elizabeth, a junior consultant from Moss Environmental has been doing a lot of research on plastic pollution and has discovered that there are a ton of plastic in the ocean which affects marine life and is also contributing towards climate change. However, she was impressed to know that this win from NSW shows that reduction in plastic pollution across the world can be achieved with time.
