An eight-year-old girl has returned her 10,000th container through Containers for Change, which she has used to raise money for charity and a surprise holiday to Disneyland.
Manaia Arbuckle from Cairns started collecting containers with her mum Paige in December 2024.
She donates half of her 10-cent refunds to Ronald McDonald House, which supported Manaia’s best friend Yasmine while she received treatment for a brain tumour.
She also raised spending money for a holiday in June – a surprise trip to Disneyland in Florida planned by her mum.
Manaia returned her 10,000th container on the morning of Friday, 23 May 2025 at her local depot Cairns Recycling in Portsmith.
To celebrate the milestone, Cairns Recycling matched Manaia’s fundraising efforts and donated $500 to Ronald McDonald House.
Manaia and her mum collect containers after school from residents and businesses across the Cairns area, including local restaurants.
“From what I thought would be four or five people wanting a bag (collected), there ended up being 12 people overnight that said, ‘absolutely count us in, what she’s doing is amazing’,” Ms Arbuckle said.
“We started off doing it fortnightly and that’s now turned into weekly, and even twice a week sometimes.”
Natalie Roach, the Chief Executive Officer of Container Exchange, the not-for-profit organisation that runs Containers for Change, congratulated Manaia on reaching the milestone of 10,000 containers returned.
“Manaia is a true change maker who is making a real difference one 10-cent container at a time,” Ms Roach said.
“By recycling through Containers for Change, Manaia is keeping containers out of landfill, supporting a charity close to her heart and earning some well-deserved pocket money to spend at Disneyland.”
Queenslanders have returned more than 10 billion containers through Containers for Change since the container refund scheme began in November 2018.
That has put more than $1 billion in 10-cent refunds back into Queensland communities, including $17 million in 10-cent refunds donated to charities.
Visit the Containers for Change website for more information on how to return eligible containers to earn the 10-cent refund.
Media contact:
m: 0408 915 422
e: media@containerexchange.com.au
