COEX was required to have a recycling rate of 85 per cent by June 2022 but instead only reached 62.9 per cent.Credit:Kyle Grillot/ Bloomberg
But the Containers for Change scheme only recycled 62.9 per cent of eligible containers last financial year,equating to almost 1.9 billion bottles and cans returned for 10¢ each.
If the target was met,families,community groups and charities could have pocketed at extra $65 million,while hundreds of millions more bottles and cans would have avoided being littered or dumped into landfill.
A failure to meet the 85 per cent recovery rate in the financial year starting July 1,2021 – and each following year – was listed as a “ground for suspending or cancelling a company’s appointment”,according to the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 and regulation.
But there appear to be no moves by Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon to cancel or suspend the operator’s contract at this stage,or slash the target.
An Environment Department spokeswoman said Queensland had set an “ambitious” recovery target,and it was the only state in Australia to have legislated its target.
“It is premature at this point to talk about reducing the target,” she said.
“One of the biggest areas for improved recovery is getting the containers out of the red-top waste bin and having these containers go back through container refund points or the kerbside yellow-top bin service.