A Moama resident has raised concerns about the state of the Return and Earn at Moama Marketplace as the Victorian Government asks for feedback about it’s own container deposit scheme.
Sonya Primorac regularly attends the Return and Earn bins at Moama, but said they were rarely clean or empty.
“You get so many people through here, they’re not emptied often enough,” Ms Primorac said.
“This morning (Wednesday, May 31) the machines were full and started jamming after they were emptied.”
A Return and Earn spokesperson said this was the result of a technical issue which affected the access to the lightweight chute for plastic bottles and cans.
“Murray River Council residents are enthusiastic participants in Return and Earn, having returned for recycling more than 56 million containers since the scheme commenced in December 2017,” the spokesperson said.
“The issue was resolved by the network operator within 24 hours.”
The spokesperson also said the live status of the machine in Moama was monitored and was cleared by the network operation an average of five to six times per day.
“The Network operator also conducts a thorough clean of the machine twice daily, with additional cleaning provided by the machine landlord Moama Marketplace as needed,” the spokesperson said.
But Ms Primorac said it’s not being done properly.
“It’s been going on for nearly six months,” she said.
“When they’re dirty, that’s when you start having problems with them.”
The Victorian Government recently legislated a similar container deposit scheme statewide.
It’s currently asking for feedback from communities, groups, and businesses about how best to implement the strategy.
Similar to the scheme in NSW, purchasers will receive a 10¢ refund on their cans and bottles when returned to container deposit machines.
The project is currently in it’s second consultation stage, and will be open for feedback until June 26.
To have your say, visit https://engage.vic.gov.au/container-deposit-scheme