Container Deposit Scheme starts in Ballarat November 1

The Courier saw a pile of discarded bottles and cans outside the reverse vending machine in the Alfred Square car park on Monday afternoon.

The scheme is intended to reduce litter and encourage recycling, according to the state government.

Former state environment minister Ingrid Stitt said earlier this year the container deposit scheme was targeting drinks mostly consumed away from the home.

"They're actually the cause of a lot of our litter," she said.

So while cans and bottles can be redeemed, plain milk, cordial, wine and spirit bottles are not included.

The container deposit scheme brings Victoria into line with other states like South Australia and NSW which run similar programs with catchy names like cash for cans.

The system is yet to be pressure tested, as locations and app features go live on November 1.

There are eight confirmed drop-off locations in the Ballarat area, as well as reverse vending machines in Creswick, Daylesford and Beaufort.

McCallum Disability Services is running two of the locations.

Executive manager Matt Vallance said being part of the CDS was an important legacy project.

"We are always looking for opportunities to increase employment opportunities for people with disability," he said.

"We do have great support in the local community where we do get a lot of business but not often do we get a long term project like this."

There are a number of options when it comes to returning your cans or containers at the eight different locations within the City of Ballarat.

If you have a small number of containers, these would be best returned at a reverse vending machine or over the counter pop up location.

At a reverse vending machine you have three options.

You can get a receipt, which you will need to take to Coles to receive a refund.

Or if you want to transfer the refund to a bank account, you would need to download the app.

The CDS Vic West app is the one needed for the greater Ballarat area.

You can link your app to a bank or PayPal account to receive an electronic transfer.

The app is also a way to donate your refund to a registered charity or community organisation.

The best place to donate a large quantity of containers would be a depot.

Ballarat will have one depot running on November 1 at 8 Butt Street, Canadian.

The facility will be open Monday to Wednesday from 8am to 3pm and Thursday to Saturday from 8am to 4pm.

You can drive through the centre and load as many cans as you need into a machine called a singulator.

The singulator will scan each container as well as measure length and weight and will also sort eligible and exempt containers.

You will need to take your ineligible containers home with you.

Once the singulator counts your containers, it will print a receipt which you can redeem for cash on site.

McCallum Disability Services will staff the depot, which will prove up to 10 jobs.

They are also running an over the counter centre in Mitchell Park at the BRI headquarters at 6 Neerim Crescent.

Work on a new shed at the Mitchell Park site will be completed in December and this will then become an automatic depot like the Canadian site.

All centres will need to scan the barcodes to process the refund so the labels will need to be intact and cans cannot be crushed or broken.

IN THE NEWS:

Sign-up for The Courier's news alerts direct to your inbox. Select Breaking News Alerts in My Newsletters & Alerts in your account preference centre.