Spirit and wine glass bottles

From 1 November 2023 spirit and wine glass bottles will be included in Queensland’s container deposit scheme (CDS). It means that when these types of bottles are bought in Queensland, they can only be returned to a depot in Queensland for the 10c refund. 

In response to the Queensland Government’s decision, labelling on spirit and wine bottles may begin to include:

'10c refund at collection depots/points in participating state/territory of purchase'. 

South Australia has not introduced spirit and wine glass bottles into their scheme. As such, South Australian consumers do not pay a deposit when buying these beverage containers and therefore, no refund is available from South Australian recycling depots. The 10c refunds for spirit and wine glass bottles will only be offered in Queensland from 1 November 2023. 

Further information regarding Queensland’s scheme:  

• For more information please visit: Queensland Containers for Change 
• For beverage manufacturers and suppliers, more information is available at: beverage manufacturers and scheme expansion 

Recycling options in SA 

SA consumers are encouraged to recycle all materials in the most environmentally beneficial way. 

Many of SA’s recycling depots provide other collection and recycling services to the community, making the network one of a number of assets that support and drive South Australia’s nation-leading status in recycling and resource recovery outcomes. 

Check with your local recycling depot which materials they accept for recycling.  

What’s happening in SA 

For more than 45 years, SA has been a leader in recycling and resource recovery, being the first to implement a CDS. Now, the state is looking to update its scheme to incorporate modern technology, create transparent reporting systems, and focus on circular economy objectives. It will help SA to ensure more high-value materials become available for remanufacturing in SA and across the nation.  

The first stage of the current review began in 2019, with a scoping paper and a summit held to consider key issues. Following this, a discussion paper was developed and released in 2021 that sought stakeholder and community feedback on specific questions about how the scheme should be modernised, including reducing confusion in what beverages are included in the scheme. 

The reforms are proposed in two stages: 

• Stage 1 – governance and systems modernisation 
• Stage 2 – national harmonisation, including which containers will be included in the scheme. 

The EPA and the SA Government continue to work with other jurisdictions to meet the 2025 harmonisation target agreed to by Environment Ministers at the April 2021 meeting. 

For more information regarding the review please visit: Review of SA Container Deposit Scheme.