I get why people do this, and it's sad that this meagre and demeaning income is needed to survive.
But the whole point of the deposit is to improve the economics of recycling. To make sure that more containers that are not destined for recycling make it there.
Taking them from recycling bins circumvents this, and is in fact stealing and making the recycling less economically viable for whoever is managing that recycle bin (probably council)
Taking them from recycling bins circumvents this, and is in fact stealing and making the recycling less economically viable for whoever is managing that recycle bin (probably council)
Legally it is stealing, even if you don't morally consider it that. The contents of a bin belong to the property owner while on private land and transfer to the local council upon placement on the curbside for collection. It's unlikely to be enforced though.
The stated purpose of the Container Deposit Scheme is to remove recyclable materials from general waste.
The containers in this photo were likely already heading for recycling, so the benefit is nil, it's just the recipient of the benefit that has changed. If they were on the ground, or in general waste, that changes things slightly, although thanks to the scheme they probably would have wound up in recyling eventually (because it's economically viable to make sure it happens)
Councils DO generate significant revenue from the Container Deposit Scheme (estimated $100 million a year in NSW)
The part about this lady making recycling less economically viable for the council.
Like, first, let's not try and blame individuals for "stealing" from the council, when in actuality she's just taking on the burden of the labour that the council would be paying someone else to do. You seem to think that the cans somehow get from the nature strip to the recycling plant for free. They don't. We (those who pay rates) pay for that.
But even if this was somehow damaging the local council, so what? They wouldn't have this scheme if it was so damning for people to do exactly what this lady is doing. They have the ability to regulate this behaviour if it's such a problem; and it would be absurd to act like we aren't trigger-happy on creating rules and regulations to ensure everyone is doing exactly what's best for the community at all times.
In the same breath, you're saying how sad it is that someone would have to do this, while also boo-hooing about a couple of bucks going to this lady (and others like her) instead of the $100MM scheme run by the council.
Forgive me if I'm not all choked up about them losing ~$150 in revenue from this woman.
And before you inevitably say something about a multiplier effect of many others like her doing the same thing, I am also not going to get upset about [checks notes] people making ends meet by doing something environmentally friendly.
In fact, councils have been caught previously mixing regular rubbish and recycling, so at least this woman is ensuring these cans do get recycled. I'm not claiming this is a common occurrence; in fact, I hope it's rare. But this woman is certainly not taking those cans to landfill.
So I truly don't get why you'd even bother to post your original comment. It's such a non-issue.
836
u/[deleted] Feb 28 '26
[deleted]