Murray River Council residents will soon have a new automated system to assist with processing items under the NSW Container Deposit Scheme.
The new depot at Moama’s waste management facility will house a machine that can process large volumes of containers, sort them and provide refunds to users.
The new system will also cater to those who can tip bags, bins or boxes full of containers into the depot’s machine rather than individually placing containers into a reverse vending machine.
Murray River Council Acting Mayor Frank Crawley said the project was part of council’s long-term waste management strategy.
“The community identified that they are looking for more options to process bulk quantities of containers through return and earn, so we have been investigating the automated depot project over the past 12 months,” he said.
“This was further cemented through the development of our Community Strategic Plan, whereby several actions around recycling and waste management were highlighted.”
Cr Cawley said the new machine would be a better fit for residents who wanted to recycle their plastics and cans.
“Through research and visiting other sites with similar equipment, we are confident that an automated depot will meet the needs of our community members looking to deposit large amounts of containers,” he said.
Once site and shed designs are complete, council will release the tender for construction.
“We are hoping to release the tender for construction later this year, so all going well, we may see the facility in 12 to 18 months’ time,” Cr Crawley said.
“We know our community are enthusiastic recyclers, so we look forward to providing more updates on this project as it progresses.”
The announcement comes after a Moama resident raised concerns about the cleanliness of the current return and earn recycling machines at the beginning of June.
Echuca is also hoping to receive a container recycling machine as the Victorian Government moves forward with plans to implement a similar deposit scheme.