Townsville is now proudly home to the largest recycling depot in Queensland with the opening of Reef Recycling in Bohle on 19 April, 2022 from 8am.
Reef Recycling opened Townsville’s first Containers for Change refund point at the launch of the scheme in November 2018, and saw enormous interest from locals at their first site at Currajong.
The scheme provides a 10 cent refund for recycling eligible drink containers, such as plastic and glass bottles, aluminium drink cans, and cartons.
Reef Recycling Director Lynette Lambert, who has been a Townville local for more than 30 years, says her family-owned and operated business outgrew their previous site.
“We had outgrown our previous depot at Currajong, so the site we are relocating to is bigger and better in every way. We had been doing around 1.1 million containers a week, but we expect that to grow even more.
“It’s a fully drive-through depot, so customers can stay in their car while we unload the containers from their boot or ute tray, then get paid cash or have their refund deposited into their bank account.
“The new Bohle depot is a great site for convenience, with state-of-the-art sorting machines, more lanes for vehicles, and we even offer free wifi for customers,” she said.
Reef Recycling has processed more than 185 million containers and returned $18.5 million to the community, with many refunds going to local charities and community groups.
“We are very involved with the community,” said Ms Lambert. ”Over Easter we’ve been giving out Easter baskets to customers and sponsored an Easter egg hunt for kids in one of the local parks.
“One of the charities we donate a lot of our refunds to is Ronald McDonald House, and we’re really involved with getting kids engaged with recycling.” Ken Noye, CEO of COEX – the non-for-profit that runs the container refund scheme – says the size of the new depot will help meet the growing local demand.
“Townsville residents have thoroughly embraced Containers for Change, with people recycling in incredibly large volumes – over 310 million containers recycled in Townsville since the launch of the scheme” he said.
“The new Bohle depot will not only cater for this demand, but will also increase the convenience and accessibility of the scheme in the area, which is crucial when it comes to changing recycling habits.
“Local popularity of the scheme shows how committed people are to recycling and preserving the beauty of their local area. With more than 185 million containers already saved from landfill through Reef Recycling, we expect even more positive environmental impacts to be made thanks to the new site.”
Reef Recycling Bohle will be open at 7-9 Titanium Place, Bohle, Townsville, seven days a week. It will be open Monday to Friday 8am-5pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am-4pm, and closed on public holidays. For more information on containers eligible for refunds and refund point locations visit the Containers for Change website.
Media contact:
m: 0408 915 422
e: media@containerexchange.com.au
