Common recycling mistake costing Aussie households: ‘Less clear’

Close to 60 per cent of residents in one Australian state are making a common recycling mistake that’s causing them to lose their 10-cent deposit on drink containers.

While flavoured milk cartons, up to 750ml, can be returned through Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme, around 49 per cent are being tossed in the recycling bin, according to a survey.

Worse still, 10 per cent are being sent directly to landfill.

New data collected by the scheme’s coordinator, VicReturn, shows small juice boxes are also perplexing residents, as 40 per cent are put in recycling and 10 per cent into landfill. The juice boxes and flavoured milk cartons are also accepted in NSW at the Return and Earn collection depots.

Since Victoria’s program began in November 2023, close to three billion containers have been returned, but the company’s CEO Matt Davis said it “takes time” for participants to understand what’s eligible and what’s not.

“Whether it’s soft drink bottles, beer bottles, or bottles of water, when people think about containers, they’re the first ones that people think about,” he told Yahoo News.

“Other beverages that Victorians may consume less frequently, like juice and milk, are probably a bit less clear for people.”

By highlighting the confusion, VicReturn is hoping to improve participation in the scheme.

“What we’re encouraging Victorians to do is just look at the label, if it has the 10-cent mark on it then it’s eligible to be returned,” Davis said.

Which items are most commonly returned?

VicReturn has supplied Yahoo News with detailed information on the total proportion of material types returned through the CDS through refund points, highlighting that juice and milk cartons are clearly under-represented.

Aluminium — 49 per cent.

Liquid paper board (juice and milk cartons) — 2 per cent.

Other materials — 0.1 per cent.

Other plastics — 0.05 per cent.

Warning not to crush containers before returning them

Around 18 per cent of people in Victoria have tried returning containers that aren’t eligible for the scheme.

While most cans, bottles and small beverage containers are eligible for the program, there are several everyday drink containers that surprisingly aren’t eligible.

They include large flavoured milk and juice containers, cordial bottles, wine and spirit bottles, and bottles under 150ml.

Plain milk bottles and cartons are also prohibited from being returned, likely because they’re consumed at home and routinely placed into recycling, and the scheme was designed to focus on items consumed on the go.

Crushed containers are also a problem, and in most cases will be rejected.

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