The Zero Waste Network and The Kiwi Bottle Drive commend the government’s Container Return Scheme proposal for the breadth of materials included (plastic, aluminum, glass and liquid packaging board) but say excluding fresh milk containers gives the dairy industry an advantage and is unfair to other beverage producers.

As of Monday, the Kiwi Bottle Drive has received over 2,658 submissions on the government’s proposed container return scheme, but says more submissions are needed to combat the political clout wielded by the dairy and beverage industries.

Container Return Schemes for drinks - where consumers pay a deposit when they buy a beverage that is redeemed when they return it to a retailer or recycling centre - have been widely adopted overseas for their ability to decrease litter and lift recycling rates.

“We have been campaigning for a bottle return system that is simple and inclusive of all containers,” said Olga Darkadaki, Campaigner at the Kiwi Bottle Drive. “This ends up being most cost-effective and efficient in the long run. Exempting milk just makes things more complicated. Why have one system for milk and another for everything else?”

“Container return schemes give responsibility to beverage producers and consumers to deal with the containers that they sell and consume. If milk is exempt from the scheme, councils, ratepayers and the wider community will continue to foot the bill via kerbside recycling costs and increased environmental damage,” said Sue Coutts from the Zero Waste Network.

“New Zealanders use about 183 million milk bottles every year, including in cafes, restaurants and workplaces. Leaving out dairy milk is nonsensical, and it creates an unfair playing field for other kinds of milks.”

“We want to encourage more people to have a say on the proposal before submissions close on 22 May. Making a submission using our template at https://kiwibottledrive.nz/ only takes 30 seconds but can have a big impact,” said Darkadaki.

“We want 5,000 submissions and would love your support.” said Darkadaki.. “This is the best way we can send a strong message in support of a simple, inclusive and fair container return scheme.”

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