Beverage manufacturers

The Queensland CRS, Containers for Change, is a product stewardship scheme meaning beverage manufacturers who supply eligible beverage products in Queensland take responsibility for reducing the environmental impact of their containers by funding the scheme.

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 scheme 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.

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.

No, you cannot opt out. The business who first supplies eligible beverage products into Queensland is required by legislation to fund the scheme.

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.

The contribution per container (scheme 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 scheme contribution = no. of eligible beverage products sold in Queensland x scheme price of material type inc. GST.

Yes, the scheme price will change over time as it is dependent on the scheme’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 scheme price bi-annually but have only increased the price twice in the first two and a half years of operation. Any changes to the scheme 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.

Your scheme contributions go towards the cost of the 10 cent refund amounts paid for containers and the cost of administering the scheme. The administration of the scheme includes all 300+ container refund points, and logistics, processing and recycling services that have seen over three billion containers collected and 700 jobs created across Queensland. Thanks to the contributions from beverage manufacturers, the Containers for Change scheme has already seen over a 50% reduction of beverage containers in the litter stream.

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.

As a beverage manufacturer under the Queensland container refund scheme, you must:

1. have a Container Recovery Agreement with COEX,
2. register your eligible products on the COEX Register of Approved Containers,
3. report the number of beverage products sold into Queensland in each calendar month, and
4. make scheme contributions (on a per unit sold basis).

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:

(1) register the barcodes of all beverage products you sell in Queensland, and

(2) report to COEX the number of eligible beverage products you have sold in Queensland in each calendar month.

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.

Your scheme ID is your unique scheme 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 scheme.

To find your scheme ID, you can log into the COEX Business Partner Portal and look for your QM number that will have eight digits (e.g. QM12345678).

The Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 regulates what is and isn’t a beverage product under the scheme (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:

• a Container Recovery Agreement is in place,
• the container is filled with an eligible beverage type and of eligible volume,
• the container and label are suitable to be recycled,
• the container has a refund mark on it,
• the container has a barcode, and
• approval has not been refused in another jurisdiction.

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.

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.

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:

10C REFUND AT COLLECTION DEPOTS/POINTS IN PARTICIPATING STATE/TERRITORY OF PURCHASE

The label must be made of recyclable material and must be of a colour and size that ensures the statement is clear and legible.

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 15^th 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.

All reporting is done through the COEX Business Partner Portal.

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.

Please provide written instruction to finance@containersforchange.com.au with the true and correct sales volumes by month and by material type.

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.

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 contact enquiries@containersforchange.com.au for a copy of the Export Deed Poll and Container Export Protocol.

You will need to log in to the COEX Business Partner Portal and provide:

1. the number of exports for each material type in the relevant calendar month,
2. the scheme ID of the manufacturer who first sold the beverage products in Queensland, and
3. the State or Territory where you have exported and sold the beverage products.

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 scheme. 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.

A business who exports eligible beverage products outside Queensland may claim an export rebate if:

1. another scheme manufacturer has reported the sale of the beverage product in Queensland to COEX and has made the appropriate scheme contribution on the sale,
2. the exporter has completed and returned COEX’s Export Deed Poll and has read and reviewed the Export Deed Protocol, and
3. COEX has set up the exporter with access to COEX’s Business Partner Portal for export sales volumes.

After completing the Exporter Deed Poll, you can lodge the monthly submission via the COEX Business Partner Portal on or by the 15^th of each month.

All beverage manufacturers, including airlines and cruise operators, are required to pay scheme 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 scheme price paid and are then exported out of Queensland (including those sold on a plane or cruise ship).

Exporters can click here to download a training webinar recording to assist with completing the export sale statement.

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 schemes to ensure minimum disruption to your day-to-day operations.

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.

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.

Please call 13 42 42 or email enquiries@containersforchange.com.au.