Would it work here?

On a recent trip to South Australia, two things stood out as we were walking around the city. One was the lack of roadside litter and the other was the numbers of people with trollys or garbage bags looking for it.South Australia has long had a refund policy on drink containers. Cans, bottles, water bottles and even flavoured milk containers attract a 10c container refund when recycled. The impact is visable.

I remember years ago attending the Adelaide Speedway (in the days when Adelaid hosted the Formula 1 Grand Prix). Kids with garbage bags prowled the grounds pouncing on any disgarded drink container. In fact our group held bets on how long a drink can we rolled down the slope would last. Not one ever reached the bottom. When the crowd went home, the difference in litter left on the grounds was very significant compared to Western Australia events.

Many would remember the days when cool drink bottles could be sold to the local shop for a few cents. Most of that would be immediately spend on lollies by the kids. Yet often, families were fed when the wages ran out, and the cool drink bottles were rounded up to be sold for a loaf of bread

Would a similar policy work in Western Australia?  Would it make a difference to the amount of roadside litter? Anyone that visits the Middleton Beach carpark early on a Saturday morning cannot help but notice how often piles of trash are left from the night before. Take out the drink containers and it would immediately halve.

A financial incentive to recycle is a compelling reason not to dump bottles and cans in the environment. S.A. has the best recycling record or any state because of the deposit. Is it time a similar program was implemented here in Western Australia?