Container refund schemes are designed to ensure drink containers made from certain materials are able to be returned to be recycled. Refunds are paid to customers to incentivise them to return these containers and collect money for themselves or donate it to good causes in their community.
Companies who make beverages and sell them in Queensland pay a fee to Container Exchange to cover the refunds paid to customers, the cost of operating the refund point network and transporting containers for processing and sale to accredited recyclers.
The amount paid by beverage manufacturers depends on the number of containers they sell and the type of material those containers are made from.
Container Exchange works with more than 700 beverage manufacturers who sell their products in Queensland. These companies are obligated to follow the state Government’s Waste Reduction and Recycling (Container Refund Scheme) Amendment Regulation in order to operate legally in Queensland.
In August 2023 the Queensland Government changed the Regulation to include glass wine and pure spirit bottles in the scheme.
Container Exchange partners with beverage manufacturers to help meet these Queensland Government requirements. A product stewardship initiative, COEX establishes a Container Recovery Agreement (CRA) with manufacturers helping them to register eligible products, report monthly sales and provide funds to administer the “Containers for Change initiative.”
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The contribution that manufacturers make on each container varies depending on the material it is made from.
Scheme announcement: COEX has determined that there will be no adjustments to the scheme price for eligible beverage products, sold in Queensland from February 2025. The results of the next pricing review will be announced in April 2025.
| Material type | Current price exc. GST (from 1 August 2024)* |
|---|---|
| Aluminum | 12.8 |
| Glass | 13.9 |
| HDPE | 13.5 |
| PET | 13.5 |
| LPB / Steel / Other | 13.9 |
| Weighted Average | 13.3 |
| *This is the price manufacturers contribute for each beverage product sold by material type into QLD | |
Container Exchange is committed to maintaining stable pricing to reduce the administrative effort for beverage manufacturers and price certainty for their customers.
Pricing reviews are conducted to align with other industry pricing changes and consider factors such as overall scheme performance, environmental targets and the effect the continuing growth in return rates across Queensland has on operational costs.
The Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 regulates what is and isn’t a beverage product under the initiative (see regulations 14 and 15). The Queensland Government has also provided a guidance sheet.
There are some important inclusions and exclusions, so we recommend you read the material closely or contact enquires@containersforchange.com.au to discuss whether your product is eligible or ineligible.
To register your containers in Queensland, please apply through the COEX Business Partner Portal, even if your container is already registered interstate.
Once an application is submitted through the Portal, COEX will review your application and send it to the relevant Queensland Government department for approval. Containers will only be approved if:
The barcode of the container is generally used as its unique identifier. You can search for your products on COEX’s product look-up function.
All eligible beverage products sold in Queensland must have a refund mark and a barcode. The refund mark is a statement on the label of the container that identifies it as eligible for a 10 cent refund. There is no prescribed copy to be used, but the most common wording is:
The label must be made of recyclable material and must be of a colour and size that ensures the statement is clear and legible.
If you are no longer the appropriate contact to hold the Container Approval for a beverage product, you can apply to have the approval transferred. Please contact enquiries@containersforchange.com.au who will provide you with the application form.
Manufacturers who sell beverage products in eligible containers into Queensland are required to pay a contribution to the Queensland Container Refund Scheme. This contribution is calculated based on the number of beverage products sold for use or consumption (or further sale for use and consumption) in the State.
A beverage product is the combination of a particular beverage packaged in a container of a particular type which is designed, when filled, to be sealed for storage, transport and handling before being sold.
After the beverage is used or consumed, the empty container may be returned for a refund amount. The purpose of these rules is to encourage recycling by rewarding the return of eligible drink containers by consumers, thereby reducing waste and benefiting the environment.
Under the Queensland Container Refund Scheme, a beverage manufacturer selling a beverage product in an eligible container designed to give the consumer an option for refill by the manufacturer at a retail point is required to report the initial sale. Subsequent refills by consumers do not require additional reporting for scheme purposes. This means that once the container is initially sold, further transactions involving refills of the same container do not necessitate additional reporting to comply with scheme requirements.
In the event of an audit initiated under the Container Recovery Agreement, the beverage manufacturer will be required to present reasonable documentation covering the sales related to “refill,” outlining any discrepancies between registered sales and contributions to the Queensland Container Refund Scheme.
Only sales after 1 November 2023 need to be declared.
Reporting is based on sales into Queensland.
The payment terms of 5 business days have been designed to ensure the Queensland Container Refund Scheme has sufficient funds to pass to customers when redeeming containers.
COEX reports on the Scheme’s performance within its annual report each year. This is available here.
Yes, by multiplying the fixed price per material by the actual historical container volumes supplied and reported into the Business Partner Portal by the beverage manufacturer.
COEX model the expected level of total revenue that is sufficient to cover the aggregated costs incurred to operate the Scheme. COEX is a not-for-profit organisation where excess cash reserves are drawn to fund future Scheme costs.
COEX applies an evidence-based approach and uses contemporary cost and activity data.
In making pricing decisions, COEX balances a range of pricing principles and policy objectives, including improving the efficiency and accessibility of the Queensland Container Deposit Scheme.
Activity data assumptions include:
COEX sets the amounts payable by beverage manufacturers by calculating a unit price payable for each beverage product sold in Queensland (Scheme price). COEX determines the Scheme price for each individual material type with reference to the Scheme objectives, the forecast average costs to be incurred (in respect of the Scheme’s operation per beverage product sold of each material type) and COEX’s current and forecast capital reserves. Any excess cash reserves are drawn to fund future Scheme costs.
Beverage manufacturers’ contributions cover the core scheme costs such as:
You will need to complete and return a Cessation of Manufacturing form. Please email enquiries@containersforchange.com.au for a copy of the form.
Although you may not be trading in Queensland any longer, your registered beverage products will remain on the COEX Register of Approved Containers to ensure that customers can still redeem the empty container for 10 cent refund in the years ahead.
The authorised contact on your account should email enquiries@containersforchange.com.au if you would like to make any changes to your COEX account. This includes those with access to the COEX Business Partner Portal and the email address to which invoices are sent.
Yes. COEX will periodically engage an independent auditor to ensure compliance with your obligations under the Container Recovery Agreement and with the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011. We will aim to have any audit done in parallel with other container refund initiatives to ensure minimum disruption to your day-to-day operations.
Exporters can click here to download a training webinar recording to assist with completing the export sale statement.
All beverage manufacturers, including airlines and cruise operators, are required to pay initiative contributions on eligible beverage products sold or supplied in Queensland. However, airlines and cruise lines can claim an export rebate for eligible beverage products that have had the initiative price paid and are then exported out of Queensland (including those sold on a plane or cruise ship).
After completing the Exporter Deed Poll, you can lodge the monthly submission via the COEX Business Partner Portal on or by the 15th of each month.
A business who exports eligible beverage products outside Queensland may claim an export rebate if:
In some circumstances, beverage products that are manufactured or first sold into QLD will be exported out of the state – either overseas or into another state or territory. Because these containers are not consumed and/or redeemed in Queensland, they do not become a cost to the Queensland initiative. The exporter of the containers may be eligible for an export rebate as a result.
An export rebate is a refund on the contribution the beverage manufacturer has paid on eligible beverage containers sold or supplied in Queensland that are then exported to another state or overseas.
You will need to log in to the COEX Business Partner Portal and provide:
Please contact enquiries@containersforchange.com.au for a copy of the Export Sale Deed Poll and Container Export Protocol.
At the end of each financial year, you must complete and return an annual declaration that either confirms your reported volumes are true and correct or otherwise provides revised sales volumes. Although it is a requirement of your Container Recovery Agreement, it is an opportunity for you to adjust your submitted numbers for the previous 12 months to ensure they are accurate.
We will let you know when this is due and how you can submit this.
Please log into the COEX Business Partner Portal and report your true and correct volumes for that month. The system will automatically reconcile your forecast invoice on your next invoice.
If the month has closed in the Portal, please email finance@containersforchange.com.au with clear written instruction on the sales volume by month and by material type.
Please provide written instruction to finance@containersforchange.com.au with the true and correct sales volumes by month and by material type.
If you sell less than 300,000 units annually, then you will be invoiced quarterly. If you sell more than 300,000 units annually, then you will be invoiced monthly.
COEX will invoice you on around the 21st day of the month, following the end of the relevant reporting period.
All reporting is done through the COEX Business Partner Portal.
Beverage manufacturers are required to submit the number of eligible beverage products they have sold into Queensland in the previous calendar month. This needs to be done by the 15th of each calendar month and via the COEX Business Partner Portal.
If you do not make any sales in a month, you must still log in and report ‘Nil’. If you fail to report at all, COEX will generate an invoice based on your historical sales in that reporting period.
Your member number (AKA scheme ID) is your unique identifier and can be provided to suppliers, distributors and retailers to confirm you have a Container Recovery Agreement in place with COEX. Please note this number is for Queensland only, it does not apply to the Western Australian Containers for Change.
To find your member number, you can log into the COEX Business Partner Portal and look for your QM number that will have eight digits (e.g. QM12345678).
Currently there is no self-service feature in the Portal, but please email enquiries@containersforchange.com.au and let them know what details need to be amended.
Once registered with COEX, nominated portal users will receive an activation email to log in to the COEX Business Partner Portal. This is where you:
As a beverage manufacturer under the Queensland container refund initiative, you must:
If you sell eligible beverage products in Queensland, you must enter into a Container Recovery Agreement (CRA) with COEX. The CRA includes all the provisions relating to reporting sales volumes, invoicing and payments.
You can begin the registration process here. COEX will review your application, request further documents if necessary, and then issue an agreement for your review and execution. The entire process takes about 2-3 weeks, so please allow enough lead time before your products hit the market.
Please note, you will need to disable the pop-up blocker on your browser before registering.
Your initiative contributions go towards the cost of the 10-cent refund amounts paid for containers and the cost of administering the initiative. The administration of the scheme includes all 360+ container refund points, and logistics, processing and recycling services that have seen over three billion containers collected and 800 jobs created across Queensland. Thanks to the contributions from beverage manufacturers, Containers for Change has already seen over a 50% reduction of beverage containers in the litter stream.
Yes, the initiative price will change over time as it is dependent on the initiative’s redemption rates. However, COEX is committed to several of cost-saving initiatives to maintain a stable and low scheme price for the beverage industry and customers.
We review the initiative price bi-annually but have only increased the price twice in the first two and a half years of operation. Any changes to the initiative price are done with 16 weeks’ notice and take effect on 1 February and 1 August each year – to align with alcohol excise duty changes.
The contribution per container (initiative price) is dependent on the material type of the containers you sell. The cost per type can be seen below; all prices are in cents per container and are GST exclusive.
Your initiative contribution = no. of eligible beverage products sold in Queensland x initiativeprice of material type inc. GST.
No, you cannot opt out. The business who first supplies eligible beverage products into Queensland is required by legislation to fund the initiative.
It is an offence in Queensland to sell an eligible beverage product without entering into an agreement with COEX and without it being registered with COEX.
This depends on the commercial arrangement. If a third party sells the beverage product to you (i.e. there is a transfer of title in that product in Queensland), then they are the seller and must report the sale. If the third party never owns the beverage product but is providing a service and/or working under license, then there may be no transfer of title when the final products are delivered to you. In that case, the first transfer of title of the product in Queensland is when you sell the beverage products down the supply chain for the first time.
The Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 defines a beverage manufacturer as the party who effects the first transfer of title of a beverage product in Queensland. This can be the manufacturer, the importer, distributor or even the retailer depending on the supply chain for the product.
If you are considered a beverage manufacturer you are obligated to contribute to the cost of collecting, sorting and recycling your empty beverage containers.
If you are not the first supplier in Queensland (i.e. you are second, third or fourth in the Queensland supply chain), then you are not required to make initiative contributions on that product. However, even if you’re not the first supplier, you are still required to make sure the product is registered by the first supplier – you can use COEX’s barcode search tool to check that it is registered.
The Queensland CRS, Containers for Change, is a product stewardship initiative meaning beverage manufacturers who supply eligible beverage products in Queensland take responsibility for reducing the environmental impact of their containers by funding the initiative.
