Container deposit scheme: beverage container litter
The study tracks changes in beverage container litter since the 2017 introduction of the Container Deposit Scheme.
In November 2017 the NSW Government introduced the Return and Earn container deposit scheme to reduce beverage container litter. It introduced the study in early 2017, before the scheme's introduction, to set a baseline of litter and then evaluate how well the scheme reduced beverage container litter entering the marine environment.
2021–22 container deposit scheme litter
- In 2021–22 container deposit scheme (CDS) litter accounted for 5.34% of the total litter item density and 41.39% of total litter volume.
- The density of container deposit scheme littered items increased by 82% from 2020–21 to 2021–22.
- The volume of container deposit scheme litter in NSW increased by 93% from 2020–21 to 2021–22.
- Since Return and Earn was introduced in 2017, eligible beverage container litter has fallen in the density of items (by 17%) and in volume (by 7%).