Australian Capital Territory · Canberra
Container deposit in ACT: what you can return
In the ACT, the Container Deposit Scheme has paid a 10 cent refund since 2018 on most drink containers between 150 millilitres and 3 litres: cans, glass and plastic bottles, and cartons. Plain milk, wine and spirit bottles and cordial are excluded. Empty each container, take the lid off, and keep the label and barcode readable.
Sources ACT Container Deposit Scheme: eligible containersACT Container Deposit Scheme: return pointsACT Government: bins
What do I do with drink containers in the ACT?
- Check the mark Eligible containers carry the scheme's refund mark. If it is missing, check the scheme's eligibility list or app before you bin it.
- Empty it Every scheme wants the container empty. Lids, crushing and sorting rules differ by scheme, so read the state rules below before you bag them up.
- Bag them by type Most depots pay faster if aluminium, glass and plastic are separated.
ACT Container Deposit Scheme has run in the ACT since 2018, paying 10c a container. Cans, glass and plastic bottles and cartons, most containers between 150 millilitres and 3 litres. Plain milk, glass wine and spirit bottles, cordial, pure juice over 1 litre, and probiotic and yoghurt drink containers are excluded. Lids off and the container empty. Crushed or uncrushed is accepted as long as the label and barcode can still be read.
Nearest drop-off: Recyclopaedia — the ACT A to Z guide to recycling, reuse and disposal
Which containers can I return in the ACT?
Most containers between 150 millilitres and 3 litres: aluminium and steel cans, glass and plastic bottles, and cartons such as flavoured milk and juice boxes. The ACT scheme names its exclusions plainly: plain milk bottles and cartons, glass wine and spirit bottles, cordial bottles, pure juice containers over 1 litre, and probiotic and yoghurt drink containers.
Do I need to take the lids off in the ACT?
Yes. The ACT Container Deposit Scheme asks for the lid off and the container empty. Crushed or uncrushed both count, as long as the label and barcode can still be read. A lightly flattened can is fine. One that has been torn or shredded past the barcode is not, because nobody can identify it.
Where are the ACT return points?
The ACT scheme publishes its return points as a list of sites by suburb at actcds.org.au. Check the address and the hours of the site you plan to use before you load the car, because return points change. The refund is 10 cents per eligible container whichever site you use.
What about containers that are not eligible?
Plain milk bottles and cartons, glass wine and spirit bottles, cordial bottles and yoghurt drink containers earn no refund in the ACT. They are still recyclable. Put them loose in the yellow lid bin, not in a bag: a plastic bag is itself banned from the ACT recycling bin because soft plastic tangles the sorting machinery.
Need it gone this week?
Compare council collection, recycling and pickup options on the skip bin hire page for Canberra.