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A national Container Deposit Legislation (CDL) system would cost Australians almost 40 per cent more than first expected, according to revised independent research, confirming the exorbitant cost of a CDL, the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) said today (June 29). In an updated report commissioned by Australia’s Environment Ministers, the estimated cost of a national CDL has been increased by the BDA Group from $492 million a year to a massive $680 million a year following an error in the economic costs of a CDL. AFGC Chief Executive Kate Carnell said the major miscalculation must sound warning bells to Environment Ministers – who meet next Monday (July 5) to discuss the recycling issue – about the enormous cost of implementing a CDL, which is also very complicated. “This research once again shows that a national CDL will be incredibly expensive – at the end of the day, consumers will bear the costs of higher priced bottled and canned beverages as well as the costs to government – which in the end is another cost to the community,” Ms Carnell said. “This $188 million error clearly shows that the choice for Ministers next week is simple arithmetic – they must reject the expensive CDL scheme, which offers a narrow approach to recycling.” Ms Carnell said a much better approach would be for people to continue to support kerbside collection and away-from-home recycling, which works effectively in capital cities and inner-city suburbs across Australia in terms of recycling rates and litter reduction. Kerbside recycling is supported by the Australian Packaging Covenant (APC) which has been successfully operating for the past decade with recycling rates improving from 39 per cent in 2003 to almost 60 per cent in 2009. The proposed new APC is a partnership agreement between industry, all levels of Government and NGOs to manage Australia’s packaging waste. “The world-leading Covenant is a far more efficient way of recycling all packaging, requires no changes for collection and provides much better value for money,” Ms Carnell said.
“The APC provides a holistic approach to waste and recycling as well as encouraging industry to design and make packaging as recyclable and environmentally-friendly as possible.”
Ms Carnell urged other states – including the Northern Territory – to consider the enormous costs of CDL before implementing the recycling system. “The NT Government should seriously consider this report to inform their decision before they move forward on CDL,” Ms Carnell said.
To read the revised BDA report, click here >>
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More information: Brad Watts AFGC Media Adviser (02) 6270 9021 or 0437 379 818 |
