Since the establishment of Container Deposit Schemes in Queensland and New South Wales, we have enabled the recycling of more than 80 tonnes of plastic and glass bottles that would have otherwise gone to landfill. And our Licensed Post Offices are leading the way with this initiative.

In late 2017 Jaci Reed, licensee of the Oakey and Stanthorpe LPOs in Queensland, was contacted by her Area Manager to get involved in Queensland’s Container Deposit Scheme, Containers for Change. The government-established scheme gives people a 10-cent refund for each container returned and our LPOs earn 6 cents for each container exchanged at their collection point.

Approximately three billion beverage containers are generated in Queensland every year and, as a result, containers are the second most common form of litter in the state.

After signing up to the program in 2018, Jaci and her team have collected 1.4 million containers (across the two LPOs), bringing new foot traffic into the LPO and generating over $84,000 in new revenue. They have also employed a member of the community to help manage the return scheme. And with Tasmania and Western Australia kicking off similar schemes in 2020, there’s plenty more good news to come.