Recycling rewards Sydneysiders
Image: Recycling machines reward residents with various prizes
BY JAZ SINGH-BRAR
Two more reward based recycling machines have been placed in Wynyard and Redfern following a successful 12 month trial that collected over 75,000 plastic bottles and cans.
The scheme, implemented by the City of Sydney, started with machines in Haymarket and Circular Quay, and rewarded participants not with cash but various prizes.
The expansion of the scheme comes following the trial, in which enough beverage containers to build a tower 30 times the height of Sydney’s Centrepoint Tower were collected.
For donating unwanted beverage containers, individuals are rewarded with the chance to receive such things as an iPad mini, bus tickets, a family pass to the New Year’s Eve Fireworks in Dawes Point or a positive message thanking individuals for recycling.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore is delighted with the success of the innovative idea to urge residents to recycle.
“In NSW only around 42 per cent of bottles and cans are recycled annually so it’s important to increase that figure, reducing waste and protecting the environment from plastic pollution,” Clr Moore said.
“The success of these machines shows that people are actively looking for options to recycle and I’m pleased the State Government has introduced a container deposit scheme to come into effect in 2017.”
But Greens Environment MLC Mehreen Faruqi said it is the NSW Government’s responsibility to implement a scheme across the state.
“It is good to see the City of Sydney taking action to reduce litter but we need a Statewide regulated container deposit scheme urgently- not in 2017, the date mooted by the NSW Government,” Ms Faruqi said.
“We shouldn’t need individual councils taking action; we need a state wide scheme that puts more responsibility on the manufacturers of the waste” she said.
Inner city local Jesus Gutierrez was pleased that the city had made the scheme a permanent fixture.
“I’ve heard of this idea before over in Europe and South Australia, it’s good to see Sydney has finally picked up the idea,” Mr Gutierrez said.
“It certainly gives good incentive for people to recycle more.”
