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Container deposit legislation in Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Container deposit legislation (CDL), also known as a container deposit scheme (CDS), is a scheme that was first implemented in South Australia in 1977 and over the decades has spread to the Northern Territory in 2012, New South Wales in 2017, the Australian Capital Territory in June 2018, Queensland in November 2018, Western Australia in October 2020 and Victoria in November 2023. The scheme is due to commence in the last remaining state of Tasmania in early 2024.[1][2]
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A Newspoll survey found a majority of people in Australia support a deposit scheme,[3] and a national scheme has also been proposed many times over the years.[4] The NSW scheme had been strongly opposed by the beverage industry before its introduction.[5]
The value of deposits and the scope of their application have been influenced by the Australian federal constitution's guarantee of free trade between the states. The defining case in this issue was the attempt to introduce a differential between reusable and recyclable bottle deposits. The issue was taken to the High Court of Australia in the Castlemaine Tooheys Ltd v South Australia court case.[6] State-based schemes need to be exempted from the Commonwealth Mutual Recognition Act which guarantees products can be sold in any jurisdiction without requiring any special labelling. This formed the basis of legal action against the Northern Territory's scheme until an exemption was granted. The value of a container deposit is 10 cents for an eligible container.