Alcohol and Drug Foundation statistics show approximately 7.5 per cent of NSW residents over 16 years are daily drinkers, with residents over 65 almost doubly so at 14.8 per cent.

Regional areas are also more likely to drink more than four standard drinks one night per week than their metropolitan counterparts, and Wagga appears no exception.

“Most residents who drink are creatures of habit,” said Lake Albert bottle shop proprietor Nathan Hale.

“I’d be surprised if the scheme affected sales.”

The second-generation bottle-o manager likened rising alcohol prices to increased costs for tobacco products.

“Those people who have been smoking for 50 or 60 years talk about how they’d quit when prices exceeded $2 a packet,” he said.

“But now when they see prices, they just shrug their shoulders and buy it anyway.”

Mr Hale said it was unlikely Wagga residents would shy away from purchasing alcohol, particularly ahead of the Christmas months. 

“Prices go up across the board, that’s just what happens,” he said

“We haven’t had anyone drive in and say ‘beer’s gone up too much, I’m not going to buy it’.”

The Return and Earn scheme remains a contentious issue within the industry following a recent operational failure at the Kooringal Mall recycling facility.

Mr Hale believes the process “could have been better thought through”.

“It’s disappointing and the more you look at the scheme, the more ridiculous it becomes,” Mr Hale said.

“By tendering the scheme out to private companies, it drives additional costs on a carton from $2.40 to near $5 just to accommodate for their profit margin.

“In my opinion, it’s being done the wrong way.”

The Australian Beverage Council estimates the cost of the scheme, which will typically be passed on to consumers, rounds out to approximately 15 cents more per container, or up to $3.60 extra for a case of beer, to cover the 10-cent refund and other fees.

Member for Wagga Daryl Maguire remains a staunch supporter of the recycling scheme.