Perth, 4 November 2026: Western Australia’s container deposit scheme, Containers for Change, has passed 5.73 billion containers returned since it launched in October 2020, the Western Australian Government said as the scheme marked six years of operation. The milestone shows how a small refund can keep glass, aluminium and plastic in circulation instead of sending them to landfill.
Since launching in October 2020, Western Australians have returned more than 5.73 billion containers, massively reducing the number of drink containers ending up in landfill and enabling valuable materials such as glass, aluminium and plastic to be recovered and recycled into new products, according to the government’s statement of 1 November 2026, confirmed by Waste Management Review on 2 November.
Money back to communities
Containers for Change has generated more than $22.26 million in donations for Western Australian community groups, charities and schools, with organisations including Men’s Shed WA raising more than $1 million through the scheme. More than $70 million has also been paid to social enterprises for processing eligible containers.
The scheme supports hundreds of jobs across Western Australia, creating employment through social enterprises, Aboriginal organisations, regional operators and businesses that employ people with a disability. More than one-third of the state’s refund points are operated by social enterprises, according to WA Return Recycle Renew Limited, which coordinates the scheme.
A bigger scheme since July 2026
The scheme was expanded on 1 July 2026, with almost all beverage containers between 150 millilitres and three litres now eligible for the 10-cent refund, including wine and spirit bottles. The expansion added around 200 million additional eligible containers to the scheme.
The program now operates through a network of 63 refund point operators across 316 sites statewide, providing access for metropolitan, regional and remote communities. With the expansion, the scheme is now progressing towards the next milestone of six billion containers returned.
Why deposit schemes work
Container deposit schemes work by giving every eligible container a small value. That value encourages people to return containers rather than throw them away, keeps materials clean enough to recycle, and gives community groups a simple way to raise funds by collecting donated refunds.
Western Australia’s experience also shows the limits of the model: success depends on convenient refund points, especially in regional areas, and on markets for the recovered glass, aluminium and plastic. The government’s statement presents the 5.73 billion figure as containers returned, not as a claim that every returned container was recycled into the same product.
FAKTA
- Scheme: Containers for Change, Western Australia, launched October 2020.
- Milestone: More than 5.73 billion containers returned in six years.
- Community return: More than $22.26 million in donations; Men’s Shed WA more than $1 million.
- Expansion: From 1 July 2026, almost all containers from 150 millilitres to three litres eligible for a 10-cent refund, including wine and spirit bottles.
- Network: 63 refund point operators across 316 sites; next milestone six billion containers.
Conclusion
Six years in, Western Australia’s scheme has turned a 10-cent refund into billions of returned containers, millions for community groups and hundreds of jobs. The test ahead is whether the expanded scheme can carry that momentum to six billion returns — and keep recovered materials in use rather than in landfill.
