Vinnies' Return and Earn centre in Wagga has celebrated a big milestone after recycling its one millionth container.
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Less than eight weeks after opening its doors as an option for recycling, the Vinnies bulk container deposit centre in East Wagga has processed more than one million containers - becoming the fastest of Vinnies' five automated sites to do so.
Vinnies Wollongong Central Council executive officer Peter Quarmby said he'd been quietly confident that the facility would be embraced by the Riverina community.
"With the convenience of drive-through access, automated sorting and counting of eligible containers at up to 100 per minute, and on-the-spot 10 cent refunds that see your money in your account before you leave the facility, our bulk container deposit centres across the state have proven very popular," he said.
"While the buzz in the region in the lead up to opening on April 8 was a good indication of how successful the facility would be, we're ecstatic that it has reached the one million container milestone in record time across our network - a testament to the demand for convenient automated options to Return and Earn in regional areas, particularly the state's south."
Mr Quarmby said container donations allow Vinnies to receive both the handling fee and the 10 cent refund from scheme operators Tomra Cleanaway, enabling Vinnies to continue to provide a host of local services.
The Return and Earn container deposit scheme was launched in late 2017 in an effort to address drink container litter, which makes up 44 per cent of all litter in NSW.