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Return & Earn

Return your beverage containers for deposit

Drink containers make up almost half of the volume of litter in New South Wales! Return and Earn is the largest litter reduction scheme ever introduced by the NSW government. The scheme will help reduce the 160 million drink containers littered in our environment each year.

How do I participate?

Consumers can exchange an eligible container at an approved collection point to receive a 10 cent refund per container. Containers should be empty, uncrushed, unbroken and with the original label attached.

Find a return point near you

How do I claim my refund?

You can choose to from several refund options, including donating the funds to charity. Not all return points offer all methods of refund:

• Electronic refund to your registered PayPal account via the myTOMRA app
• Retail refund via a voucher that you can redeem for cash or use towards an instore credit at a partnering retailer (such as Woolworths)
• Donate your refund to one of four charitable or community organisations shown on the reverse vending machine screen
• Over-the-counter manual collection point you will receive 10 cents cash

Learn more about the types of return points.

Can I continue to recycle containers at home?

Yes, residents can continue to use their yellow-lidded recycling bins at home for recyclables, including those eligible for a refund when you are unable to take them directly to a return point. Items placed into these bin will continue to be recycled through Council’s recycling contract

Case Study: Bondi Beach Reverse Vending Machine collects more than 5 million containers for recycling

The Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) at Bondi Beach launched in June 2018 and since then more than 5 million containers have been returned for recycling. Early removal of the Bondi Beach RVM took place to accommodate the operation of the COVID-19 screening clinic, located at Park Drive North, Bondi Beach.

An alternative RVM is located at 500 Oxford St, Bondi Junction Learn more about this location.

Find a return point