A drink 'bottle tax' would have big benefits, report finds

Friday, 8 December 2017

How a reverse vending machine can pay out on empty containers.

Supporters of putting a tax on drink containers to encourage recycling have been given a boost.

A container deposit scheme would save the country up to $645 million over 10 years, a new report says.

Adding a 10 cent tax on drinks, refunded when the empty containers were returned, would also mean up to 857 million extra glass, plastic, aluminium and paper containers would be recycled.

Drinks would cost more but when empty would be worth money under a container deposit scheme.

These are the conclusions of an Auckland Council-commissioned report, just released.

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Matthew Luxon says the report is an endorsement of the model Envision proposed 10 years ago.

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Lyn Mayes from The Packaging Forum says the group has long been against a bottle tax.

'The benefits are at least three times the costs and may be over six times the estimated cost,' the Sapere Research Group found.

The council commissioned the independent report due to different views on whether a container deposit scheme would work in New Zealand, environment committee chairwoman Penny Hulse said.

One option for giving refunds is a reverse vending machine such as this one made by Norwegian company Tomra.

'We need to do everything we can to turn the tide on litter and marine pollution.'

The analysis found Auckland ratepayers would save more than $3 million a year on council recycling contracts and 12 recycling trucks could be taken off the road, she said.

A Ministry for the Environment spokeswoman said the Government was always looking to improve recycling in New Zealand.

'We will certainly be considering the merits of Auckland Council's cost benefit analysis on a container deposit scheme,' she said.

'In particular, we will be looking at the research methodology, and the opportunities and impacts of a transition to a container deposit scheme.'

Envision New Zealand director Matthew Luxon said a national container deposit scheme could be implemented with the approval of the Minister for the Environment.

The new report analysed Envision's proposal for such a scheme, and the findings were an endorsement of it, he said.

Luxon said companies should take responsibility for the things they chose to make.

'At the moment they can create a beverage, sell that beverage, make a profit on it and then the bottle becomes the council's problem.

'As private businesses, why wouldn't they fight it when they can get it for free at the moment?'

Envision's scheme would be a cost to industry of up to 3 cents per a bottle but that was 'a pretty low amount for the benefits we would get'.

The Packaging Forum, an industry-funded organisation to improve recycling, said on its website it did not support bottle taxes.

People do not want to pay more for food and groceries, the website said.

A 2016 report by economic consultancy Covec found such a container deposit scheme would cost $75 million a year, it said.

Packaging Forum manager Lyn Mayes said it would take time to review the new report and gather feedback from its members before making a formal response.

The Sapere report found recycling rates across the country would increase from between 45 and 58 per cent to between 79 and 82 per cent.

Society would be between $184m and $645m better off over 10 years, and councils could save between $12.5m and $20.9m in collection costs each year.

Other annual savings to councils would be between $4.2m and $7.7m.

More than 6700 people have signed a petition calling on the Government to implement a container deposit scheme.

Below is an Envision New Zealand video explaining how its container deposit scheme would work.