Refund Points
An important part of Containers for Change is the establishment and operation of refund points across Western Australia to accept the return of 10c containers and facilitate customer refunds.
Reflecting our priority to create opportunities within the community, refund points are operated by a range of different social enterprises, businesses, and non-profit organisations.
The role of a Refund Point Operator includes
Collecting eligible containers deposited by members of the public and charity organisations;
Counting and sorting containers;
Facilitating customer refunds of 10c per eligible container; and
Connecting with the community to ensure awareness and understanding of Containers for Change.
Refund point operators are the face of Containers for Change and are expected to provide high levels of customer service.
There are currently 314 refund points in the State, making Western Australia’s Containers for the Change the most accessible container deposit scheme in Australia.
TYPES OF REFUND POINTS
Four types of refund points can be found throughout Western Australia.
These sites serve different communities depending on the number of containers being returned and how customers would like to receive their refund.
DEPOTS
Depots are large 10¢ container-counting facilities (similar to warehouses) with operators that count your containers for you. Some Depots also offer self-serve options, drive-through or Drop & Go services. Depots are independently run by a range of operators — from not-for-profits and local families, to large businesses. Depots allow customers to return containers and get refunds on the spot. A refund is provided in cash, via electronic funds transfer using a customer’s member number, or the refund can be donated to a community group or charity.
DROP & go stations
Drop & Go stations offer a convenient and contact-free way to recycle and receive refunds through a member number.
Drop & Go stations will take slightly longer for a customer to receive their refund compared to a depot, as containers need to be collected, transported, and counted before the refund can be processed. These sites are serviced regularly with the timing dependent on location.
Once a bag of containers is picked up and counted, the customer will receive a refund direct to their bank account via their member number, or their refund can be donated to a community group or charity member number.
Self-Serve kiosks
Self-serve kiosks are an automated return service for eligible containers.
Customers scan their member number before inserting their uncrushed containers into the self-serve kiosk, which scans and counts eligible containers. The refund is then automatically sent to the bank account associated with the member number.
The self-serve kiosks count and check container eligibility via their barcodes, so crushed containers or those without legible barcodes won’t be accepted.
POP-UP depots
Pop-up refund points provide a scheduled service where refund point operators meet customers every week, fortnight, or month.
These pop-up locations allow customers, community groups, and charities to return their containers for a refund either in cash, via retail cash voucher, or through the bank account associated with their member number.
Some operators count the containers on the spot, while others will take your containers back to their sorting point to count and then process the refund.
Not all pop-up refund points offer cash refunds.