NSW cash for cans: 10 cents for every drink bottle you can find.

NSW MPs throw support behind container deposits

A few MPs in New South Wales have come out in support of a 'Cash for Containers' scheme.

• Cash for cans: NSW MPs make video appeal

Picking up discarded water bottles is about to get lucrative, with the NSW cabinet voting to adopt a 10¢ container deposit scheme to start in July next year.

Despite intense opposition from the drinks industry, the Baird government has chosen to support a community-backed recycling scheme for drink containers, as it seeks to reduce litter by 40 per cent by 2020.

Load of rubbish: the container deposit scheme is intended to reduce pollution.

Schools, charity groups and scouting troops will also be winners, as the CDS opens a valuable fundraising avenue – or source of children's pocket money.

Ten cents will be paid for every drink container between 150ml and three litres, and displaying a NSW CDS label, when returned to a depot or reverse vending machine.

Premier Mike Baird said the scheme was "the single largest initiative ever undertaken to reduce litter in NSW".

Some 168 million containers weighing 17,700 tonnes are littered in NSW every year. 

"Giving people a financial incentive to do the right thing and recycle drink containers will help to significantly reduce the estimated 160 million drink containers littered every year," he said.

Deputy Premier and Nationals leader Troy Grant said NSW regional towns had a tradition of volunteering and would benefit.

"This scheme will allow volunteer and sporting groups to raise much-needed funds to continue their great work in our communities," Mr Grant said.

The scheme will be funded by the drinks industry, which will be expected to fund the 10 cent refund and cover administration and handling fees.

Environment Minister Mark Speakman said the scheme delivered a key election commitment to get bottles and cans off the beaches, roads and out of waterways.

Depots will range from large-scale to pop-up sites, and anyone returning a container is eligible for a refund.

Drinks that are mostly consumed at home and don't typically end up as litter, such as wine, milk and juice, won't be eligible for the scheme.

Drinks containers can still be thrown out through council-run kerbside collection schemes, in which case the householder won't receive a refund. Instead, the 10¢ deposit will be redeemed by councils who will use the funds raised to reduce the cost of waste collection for ratepayers.

In South Australia last year, $60 million was raised by charities and community groups collecting drinks containers in a similar scheme.

The cabinet decision follows an extensive consultation period, in which the drinks industry had been invited by Mr Baird to "get on board". But the beverage companies continued to oppose 10¢ deposits and instead proposed more rubbish bins.

In 2012, Coca-Cola Amatil, Schweppes and Lion Nathan took the Northern Territory government to the Federal Court in a bid to stop the introduction of a container deposit scheme.

The Northern Territory overcame the court ruling by gaining an exemption from a federal law that states products can be sold in any jurisdiction without special labelling.

The decision by NSW is likely to be a tipping point for the introduction of similar schemes across Australia, with the Queensland and ACT governments previously stating they would join up if NSW adopted the measure.

Government insiders said the beverage companies would be better off lobbying for consistency between state container deposit schemes and labelling, instead of opposing a litter reduction scheme that is popular with voters.

Fairfax Media revealed last year that Carlton and United, Lion and Coca-Cola had colluded in a secret plan to attack the Baird government's proposal to introduce a CDS, with leaked emails showing 15 company executives holding regular conference calls to report back on lobbying of politicians.