![\"South](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/iStock-523481312-640x427.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSouth Australian wineries could face a $40 million financial hit as the state government pushes ahead with plans to include wine and spirit bottles in its 10-cent container deposit scheme (CDS), one industry body warns.<\/p>\n
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The expansion, set to take effect by late 2027, has sparked concern across the wine industry, especially among small producers already struggling with rising costs and market pressures.<\/p>\n
The move aligns South Australia with New South Wales, which will also introduce wine and spirit bottles into its CDS as part of a broader effort to reduce landfill waste and boost recycling. Similar measures are already in place in Queensland, while Western Australia and the Northern Territory have committed to or announced plans for expansion.<\/p>\n
The CDS was started in South Australia in 1977, and is now active in every state and territory. SA residents return an average of 660m drink containers every year, with the expansion of the scheme correlating with the programme\u2019s 50th birthday.<\/p>\n
The phasing in of the new containers from late 2027 is planned to give the alcohol sector time to adjust and allow collection points and systems to gear up for the added new containers. Customers will be able to receive a 10-cent refund for every bottle returned.<\/p>\n
Feeling the effects<\/p>\n
But industry modelling found that the actual cost to wineries\u00a0 would be approximately 20-cents per bottle, and could set South Australian producers back by $40m annually, if the scheme was rolled out nationwide, The Advertiser reported.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the The Advertiser, the South Australian Wine Industry Association chief executive Inca Lee said it would be an \u201cenormous cost\u201d to SA wineries and an \u201cawfully big hit\u201d to an industry that was already under lots of pressure in recent years due to the loss of the Chinese export market.
Lee said wineries would struggle to pass the extra cost on to consumers due to retail pricing pressures. This is a perspective she said she had been \u201cat pains to express\u201d to the state government.<\/p>\n
She continued: \u201cI think there is a misunderstanding that people think you pay 10c and the consumer gets 10c back but it doesn\u2019t work like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recycling push<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a significant economic contributor included in the regional fabric of the state and the government acknowledges our importance in the state and it is so very disappointing given that we still had outstanding queries about the assumption that they were using around their modelling of the cost impact on businesses,\u201d Lee added.
Speaking on the CDS expansion, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said it was time to \u201ctake the next step\u201d and expand the 10-cent deposit schemes, reported ABC News.<\/p>\n
Despite South Australia\u2019s reputation as a leader in container recycling, the government admits the current system is falling short. Malinauskas said while council bin collections around SA were \u201cprogressive and convenient in nature\u201d, only about 11 per cent of the nearly 36,000 tonnes of glass containers collected in council bins were recycled \u201cin a productive way\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you put your wine or spirit bottle into your recycling bin that the council picks up \u2026 those glasses, those bottles don\u2019t necessarily get recycled in the rate that you would anticipate,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Wineries on the rise<\/p>\n
The expanded scheme is expected to prevent up to 500 million beverage containers from ending up in landfill annually. It will also include larger drink containers such as cordial, juice concentrates, and flavoured milk bottles.<\/p>\n
From 2000 to 2022, the number of South Australian wineries more than doubled, from 308 to 695. Tasmania stands out as a star, contributing 6.5% of Australia\u2019s overall wine sales despite accounting for only 1.2% over the total grape crush.<\/p>\n
Speaking to db, Teresa Heuzenroeder, winemaker for Jansz Tasmania, described the 2025 vintage as \u201cbountiful\u201d, <\/a>\u201cwith yields above the long-term average across Tasmania\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a real sense of excitement about how these wines will develop, and the consensus across the state is that 2025 has been an excellent vintage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Related news<\/p>\n \n \n
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