The Australian Beverages Council is heavily involved in the development and implementation of Container Deposit Schemes across Australia.

What is a Container Deposit Scheme?

Container Deposit Schemes have been operating in Australia since 1977 with the commencement of South Australia’s scheme. Since then, the Northern Territory (2012), NSW (2017), ACT (2018) Queensland (2018), Western Australia (2020), Victoria (2023) and Tasmania (2025) have all established their own schemes.

Across Australia, approximately 65-70 per cent of containers are returned through CDS (as at June 2025). While the environmental benefits of these schemes are clear, the fragmented, state by state approach has created significant complexity and challenges for industry. This includes varied container eligibility, reporting processes, payment terms and approaches to the collection of material.

The ABCL advocates for improvements to schemes that optimise the efficiency of scheme operations, harmonise jurisdictional variability, lifts the recovery rate of containers and keeps material in a bottle-to-bottle circular economy. Such improvements include increasing the density and variability of return points and removing planning barriers that restrict the establishment of return points. We are committed to policies that make consumer access and participation easier, reduces administrative burden particularly for small and medium business, and balances strong outcomes with efficient and proportionate costs.

To view our CDS-related submissions, click here. 

The ABCL supports:

Recommendation 1:

National consistency on the scope of eligible containers.

Recommendation 2:

Expanded access to return points including:

• Mandated separation in government buildings and facilities including Parliament office workplaces, hospitals, prisons, schools, council facilities and venues.
• Provision for separated collection of containers in public spaces such as parks and transport hubs and at public events.
• Encourage greater collection of materials in hospitality, retail and catering settings.
• Incentivise separation of CDS-eligible containers in multi-unit dwellings.
• Reduce planning barriers that limit the establishment of traditional return points and reverse vending machines (RVMs).
• Minimise point-of-return barriers including any registration requirements that disincentive one-off or unregistered returns.

Recommendation 3:

Use of scheme funds to increase the collection of materials through investment in scheme-owned infrastructure and programs and initiatives that encourage greater participation.

Recommendation 4:

Pathways that retain use of CDS-recovered material for the highest-value use including recycling into new beverages containers. Where possible, beverage manufacturers should be offered first right of refusal to CDS-recovered material to keep this valuable resource in the circular economy.

Recommendation 5:

Mandated minimum standards for sortation and material recycling facilities to minimise contamination, downgrading and the leakage of eligible containers to landfill.

Recommendation 6:

Harmonisation and centralisation of scheme administration to reduce the complexity for beverage manufacturers in registering containers, sales reporting and invoicing, auditing and exporting.

CDS Information for Industry

The ABCL disseminates information to members via monthly newsletters, committee forums and through a dedicated industry taskforce. If you wish to know more about CDS or have any questions, please reach out to the ABCL at info@ausbev.org

Are you a first supplier? Click on a state below to learn about your obligations.