The Newspoll was commissioned by Greenpeace and the Boomerang Alliance who declared the level of support had created an unstoppable momentum that governments would ignore at their peril. State and federal governments will soon receive a new economic report and decide on whether Australia will have a national
CDS NEWSPOLL RESULTS
NSW: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jbieybt2jis54eb/NSW_0613_ENVIRONMENT%20AND%20RECYCLING%20POLL.pdf
VIC: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5885nxuqj2ulyf6/VIC_0613_ENVIRONMENT%20AND%20RECYCLING%20POLL.pdf?m
QLD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/as9qr71zas4gzbk/QLD_0613_ENVIRONMENT%20AND%20RECYCLING%20POLL.pdf?m
NSW had the highest level of support at 86%, with Queensland at 85% and Victoria, 81%. In all cases the level of support in regional areas was higher than in the capital city – regional Queenslanders were outstanding with 92% support.
“This poll is a timely reminder to politicians that Australians want a ‘Cash for Containers’ recycling scheme,” said Greenpeace Campaigner Reece Turner.
“With state leaders due to make a decision any time in the next few weeks, this poll should send a clear message that we had enough of trash polluting our parks and waterways.” “With this level of public support it’s perhaps not surprising that representatives of the Food and Grocery Council are resorting to dirty tactics by using the emails of small businesses to send opposing letters to MPs - without their permission (as reported in the Sunday Herald Sun 16/6/13, p23). We’ve also assessed the industry alternative to a CDS – and it doesn’t work,” said Jeff Angel, Executive Director of the Total Environment Centre.
Australians use about 15 billion drinks containers a year and 8 billion are landfilled or littered. Clean Up Australia estimates that 45% of the rubbish collected every Clean Up Australia Day is beverage industry-related. The waste is particularly devastating for Australian marine birds. In addition to South Australia and the Northern Territory, container deposit schemes are successfully running in over 40 locations around the globe. The scheme being proposed by the Boomerang Alliance is based on best practice efficient, low cost and convenience features that will lead to no extra charge to consumers who recycle. “Cash-for-Containers has been operating for over 35 years in South Australia. As a result, recycling rates there are double those around rest of the country, at no cost to the consumer,” said Reece Turner from Greenpeace. “This polling shows Australians have seen through the industry fear campaigns and are backing a practical low-cost way to beat the scourge of plastic pollution.”
Further information: Reece Turner 0408 754 910; Jeff Angel 0418 273773.
Friday 21 June, 2013: A new poll has revealed that 84% of people living in NSW, Victoria and Queensland support the introduction of a 10c container deposits scheme (CDS).