Container deposit schemes reduce rubbish on our beaches. Here’s how we proved it
Limited recycling programs and a society that throws away so much have resulted in more than 3 million tonnes of plastic polluting the oceans.
- Limited recycling programs and a society that throws away so much have resulted in more than 3 million tonnes of plastic polluting the oceans.
- So can waste-management strategies such as container deposit schemes make a difference to this 50,000–60,000 tonnes of beach rubbish?
- We wanted to know if it reduced the rubbish that washed up on beaches in a tourist hotspot, the Whitsundays region.
Container deposit schemes work
- Other states and territories have had schemes like this for many years, the oldest in South Australia since 1971.
- So our findings are great news, especially as some of these other schemes are set to expand too.
- Read more:
Spin the bottle: the fraught politics of container deposit schemes
The data came from the community
- The unsung heroes of this study are the diligent volunteers who provided us with these data.
- They have been recording the types and amounts of rubbish found during their cleanups at Whitsundays beaches for years.
- The long-term perspective we can gain from such data is testament to this sustained community effort.
There’s still more work to do
- Our findings show we can create more sustainable practices and a cleaner environment when individuals are given incentives to recycle.
- Getting people directly involved in recycling fosters a sense of responsibility for the environment.
- The lessons from our study apply not only in Australia but anywhere that communities can work with scientists and governments to solve environmental problems.
So if we recycle our plastics, why do we still get beaches covered in rubbish? The reality is that most plastics aren’t recycled. This is mainly due to two problems: