While Australian environment ministers reported on December 15, 2011 the substantial costs of a national Container Depositing Scheme (CDS), Australia’s leading recycling company Visy is advocating against a similar scheme for Victoria. As previously reported by Australian Food News, the Northern Territory (NT) has now implemented its own “Cash for Containers” recycling scheme, modelled on South Australia (SA)’s Container Deposit scheme, which has been operating since 1977. Although there... ...Read more »

With the Cash for Containers scheme now in place in the Northern Territory as reported last week by Australian Food News. NT’s Consumer Affairs government department has warned companies that unfair price rises could result in fines. NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson has urged Territorians to report any extreme price rises claimed to be as a result of the Cash for Containers scheme to a dedicated consumer affairs hotline. Mr Henderson said, “Consumer Affairs have the powers to slap suppliers with... ...Read more »

The mandatory recycling and labelling scheme for beverage containers (“Cash for Containers”) in the Northern Territory came into operation on 3 January 2012. The Northern Territory scheme has been modelled on South Australia’s but with some changes claiming to make the NT Cash for Containers scheme more transparent and efficient than the SA counterpart legislation. This scheme aims to reduce litter from streets, increase recycling and help reduce the amount of rubbish going to the rubbish... ...Read more »

Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has reported that its new technologies for the self-manufacture of lighter PET plastic beverage bottles delivered a reduction in the carbon footprint of each bottle by 22%. This is said to be equivalent to 1700 cars being removed from Sydney roads per year. CCA’s claims are set out in a detailed Corporate Responsibility Report issued this week by the company. The Corporate Responsibility Report ironically coincides with recent financial reporting by CCA that  featured its... ...Read more »

At a meeting held in Canberra today, federal environment ministers failed to reach agreement on a national recycling deposit scheme for packaged beverage containers. Under the proposed scheme, a 10-cent fee would be levied and refunded when containers are recycled. A similar scheme was introduced to South Australia in 1977 and is still in place today, allowing South Australians to collect a deposit for each beverage container they return to a recycling depot. The Northern Territory is also planning... ...Read more »

The UK’s Food and Drink Federation has called on the food industry to take a holistic approach to reducing waste and improving efficiency. Speaking today at the Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum, FDF director of sustainability and competitiveness Andrew Kuyk said that, to date, food manufacturers have taken an approach to sustainability that focuses on reducing waste and improving resource efficiency within their own operations. “This has been an easy sell,” he suggested. “Resource... ...Read more »

Food giant Unilever switched off lights and electrical equipment in all its office sites across Australia and New Zealand in support of Earth Hour on Saturday, in addition to encouraging its employees to do the same at home. “In line with our commitment to creating a more sustainable future, Unilever is once again proud to support Earth Hour in 2011” said Sebastian Lazell, Chairman Unilever Australia and New Zealand. “We believe that small steps can make a big difference and we encourage... ...Read more »

Swiss scientists have linked cardboard packaging made from recycled newspapers to health complaints in lab rats, ranging from the inflammation of internal organs to cancer.Researchers at the Food Safety Laboratory in Zurich said that mineral oils in ink from newspapers that are then recycled can make their way into foods such as cereal, pasta and rice – even passing through inner plastic bags. The researchers analysed a total of 119 products bought from German supermarkets last year. According... ...Read more »

Territorians should not be fooled into believing the NT Government’s proposed Cash for Containers legislation is a ‘magic pudding’ for Christmas that won’t cost consumers or government anything, the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) said today. In an open letter to NT Members of Parliament published in the NT News today, AFGC urged political leaders not to vote for the legislation until all costings, analysis and details have been released by the Government. AFGC Chief... ...Read more »

Coinciding with the first day of Queensland school holidays, Wet’n'Wild Water World today unveiled Coca-Cola Amatil’s new interactive recycling system: Coca-Cola Amatil will donate 5c for every PET bottle placed in recycling bins within Wet’n'Wild Water World to Surf Life Saving Queensland, up to the value of $10,000. The infrastructure was launched amid a sea of little nippers and lifesavers from Surf Life Saving Queensland who were given free entry into the park this morning,... ...Read more »