From 2022, Tasmanians will get a refund for each eligible drink container they return to a designated Refund Point. The Container Refund Scheme aims to reduce litter and increase recycling.
Information on submissions
Other than indicated below, submissions will be treated as public information and will be published on this website. Submissions will be published as soon as possible after the conclusion of the consultation period. No personal information other than an individual's name or the organisation making a submission will be published.
Accessibility of submissions
The Government recognises that not all individuals or groups are equally placed to access and understand information. We are therefore committed to ensuring Government information is accessible and easily understood by people with diverse communication needs.
Where possible, please consider typing your submission in plain English and providing it in a format such as PDF, Microsoft Word or equivalent.
The Government cannot however take responsibility for the accessibility of documents provided by third parties.
Important information to note
Your name (or the name of the organisation) will be published unless you request otherwise.
In the absence of a clear indication that a submission is intended to be treated as confidential (or parts of the submission), the Department will treat the submission as public.
If you would like your submission treated as confidential, whether in whole or in part, please indicate this in writing at the time of making your submission clearly identifying the parts of your submission you want to remain confidential and the reasons why. In this case, your submission will not be published to the extent of that request.
Copyright in submissions remains with the author(s), not with the Tasmanian Government.
The Department will not publish, in whole or in part, submissions containing defamatory or offensive material. If your submission includes information that could enable the identification of other individuals then either all or parts of the submission will not be published.
The
Right to Information Act 2009 and confidentiality
Information provided to the Government may be provided to an applicant under the provisions of the
Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI). If you have indicated that you wish all or part of your submission to be treated as confidential, your statement detailing the reasons may be taken into account in determining whether or not to release the information in the event of an RTI application for assessed disclosure. You may also be contacted to provide any further comment.
Background information on the CRS
Drink containers make up 45 per cent of Tasmania’s litter, by volume. From late 2022, Tasmanians will get a refund for each eligible drink container they return to a designated Refund Point. The statewide Container Refund Scheme (CRS) aims to reduce litter and boost recycling, to protect our unique natural environment. Millions of drink containers will be recycled each year instead of ending up in our parks, rivers and beaches.
Every Australian state and territory has a CRS or has committed to implement one. All states are working to harmonise the refund amount, which is currently 10 cents per container.
Policy update
The Tasmanian Government is currently designing a CRS best suited to our state ahead of implementation in 2022. As part of this process an Expert Reference Group has been formed to advise on the design of the Scheme. The ERG is made up of representatives from:
- the beverage, retail and hospitality industries
- the waste and recycling sector
- environment groups
- local government, and
- charities.
Member organisations of the Expert Reference Group
We’re also liaising with other states, and building on work from previous studies.
Scheme governance
The Tasmanian Government has announced its position on how the CRS should be governed. The selected model is ‘split responsibility’ governance. That means a Scheme Coordinator oversees the Scheme’s finances and administration, while an independent Network Operator establishes and runs the network of Container Refund Points.
The Tasmanian Government has selected this model because it will bring together all the relevant sectors to deliver the best Scheme; we think this will maximise container returns. We want the network of Refund Points to be run by companies with expertise in logistics and recycling.
Next steps