We did it! We won a world-class recycling system for NSW

10 May 2016

From July 2017, you’ll get 10c back for every can and bottle you recycle. It may not sound like much, but it worked for South Australia with double the recycling rate of other states. It’s the system we were promised by Premier Mike Baird back in 2015 - and he was dragging his heels until Greenpeace supporters rallied to defend earlier this year against Coke-led attacks

From July 2017, you’ll get 10c back for every can and bottle you recycle. It may not sound like much, but it worked for South Australia with double the recycling rate of other states. It’s the system we were promised by Premier Mike Baird back in 2015 – and he was dragging his heels until Greenpeace supporters rallied to defend earlier this year against Coke-led attacks.

This morning, Mike Baird and his government sided with the community, not Coke. We won.

We did it!

We did it!

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Pop a cork, do a little dance or fist-pump the air – whatever it is you do to celebrate, now’s the time! We’ve cleaned up our beaches and parks, saved ratepayer dollars on litter pick-up, and lined up a windfall for charities and community groups who’ll start getting 10c back for every can and bottle they recycle.

Loads of us worked together on this, led by the Boomerang Alliance (to whom we all owe a huge thanks). From scientific reports to political lobbying to tens of thousands of emails in MPs’ inboxes to six brave climbers sitting atop the Coke mega-billboard causing “the most excitement in Kings Cross since the lockout laws came in” – this is a community victory.

And it wouldn’t have happened without people like you. Just a few months ago the NSW government was wavering, swayed by the ferocity of Coke’s lobbying. But tens of thousands of us banded together to build the world we want to live in, and we’ll keep on doing it. If you want to help win more campaigns like this, please chip in a few bucks now – we’re completely dependent on people like you to keep the lights on and the victories flowing: Chip in here.

We’re not done yet – we’ll be watching to see how the Queensland and Victorian governments make up their minds on this issue. Your contribution could see this win extend to other parts of Australia.

But for now, enjoy the moment and imagine the look on Coke execs’ faces. People over profit, every time.