Derwent Valley has recycling in the can

The Derwent Valley community has thrown itself and its cans into the Recycle Rewards initiative which in turn assists its local Tidy Towns group.

With 10 cents redeemable on eligible drink containers, many people are choosing to donate it to the Derwent Valley Tidy Towns Business Awareness Raising Campaign.

The group of eight hard-working volunteers has so far raised more than $550 in 40 days and are well on their way to achieving their $4000 goal. 

With beverage containers making up almost half of Tasmania’s litter by volume, the trash-busting group is going straight to the source to address the problem – turning its attention toward local businesses and organisations that sell takeaway drinks. 

The group is providing 240 litre bins to help local business operators prevent eligible drinks containers from becoming litter in the environment. 

The group then collects the bins and returns the containers to their local refund point, with all funds raised going toward their clean-up and graffiti removal efforts across the Derwent Valley.

Derwent Valley Tidy Towns volunteer Ian Lacey said volunteers had been collecting and recycling cans for years as part of local fundraising efforts. 

“We used to get between 40c and $1.60 per kilo. At about 60 cans per kilo, we now make six times that. Plus, we can return more types of containers too,” he said. 

“Incentivised recycling works: the number of cans and bottles on our roads has decreased since Recycle Rewards began.” 

Kerbside recycling is only available fortnightly in New Norfolk, so the Recycle Rewards refund point at Woolworths New Norfolk is a convenient addition to the town’s waste management. 

Derwent Valley Tidy Towns secretary Tim Morris said that in the first month the group has diverted almost eight cubic meters of refundable and recyclable containers from landfill and saved partner businesses significant waste disposal costs.

“We will talk to all local businesses that have refundable containers about how we can work with them to reduce their volumes going to landfill and we will provide a tailor-made solution to any business that we provide our collection service,” he said.

The clean streams of recycling created by Recycle Rewards also helps build Australia’s circular economy – reducing the reliance on virgin raw materials and fossil fuels and helping keep Tasmania beautiful.

Tasmanians have returned more than eight million eligible containers since the container refund scheme launched on May 1.

The state’s top refund points are spread right across the state. Devonport in the northwest is the state’s busiest site, followed by Claremont, Bridgewater and Mowbray. More than 365,000 containers have been returned in New Norfolk since Recycle Rewards started.

Aluminium continues to be the top material returned, accounting for approximately 65 percent of returns. Plastics made up about 20 percent, glass 13 percent and liquid paperboard carton about 2 percent. 

“We’re delighted that Derwent Valley Tidy Towns is a Recycle Rewards Donation Partner. These volunteers do a terrific job keeping our streets and roads clean and removing illegal graffiti. I encourage all Derwent Valley locals to consider donating to them,” TasRecycle CEO Ken Roughley said.

Visit recyclerewards.com.au for more information about Recycle Rewards, including container eligibility, refund point locations, signing up as a Donation Partner and how to make the most out of your fundraising effort.