Studies show that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish, and when it comes to recycling, Queensland can do a lot better. In fact, the state has one of the lowest recycling rates in Australia, at around 44%. Each year, approximately three billion beverage containers are generated in the state alone and are the second most littered item. To improve recycling efforts and keep the beautiful environment litter-free, the Containers for Change scheme was introduced by the Queensland Government on 1 November 2018. The scheme allows people to get a 10 cent refund for each eligible container returned to a refund point (i.e. TOMRA, Return It and Envirobank). 

As a registered charity, Global Shapers Gold Coast was eligible to receive a Scheme ID, which means anyone returning their containers to a refund point can choose to donate the refund to Global Shapers Gold Coast. This enables the funds to be electronically transferred into the group’s bank account. Through the Good Karma Project, Gold Coast Shapers will reinvest refunds into circular economy projects and sustainability initiatives, which could include:  

• Clean up projects on our land and sea within the Gold Coast


• Tree planting and revegetation projects


• Delivering education programs at schools around sustainability


• 
  Organising Solar buddy program ($30-$50 pp) to make GSGC branded solar lights for developing countries engaging school students, corporate organisations and traditional owners.
  


• Designing an App that flips the current process (i.e. instead of going to a drop off location, creating an app that can notify pick up opportunities in the neighbourhood) 


• Hosting the next Climate-KIC or Climathon event on the Gold Coast to incubate more solutions around city-based problems. 


• Campaigning to lobby Gold City Council to declare a climate emergency

As a pilot project, the hub will trial different collection methods. This could include: 

• Scheduling regular pick-ups from cafes/businesses within a Gold Coast precinct and providing reusable bags or bins for collection


• Participating in large-scale events (i.e. concerts or festivals) by providing bins and/or roving volunteers collecting containers


• Scheduled kerbside collections or door-to-door pick up within a community precinct 


• Community clean-ups (land and water) 


• Marketing campaign (flyers) mailbox drop encouraging people to donate their refunds to GSGC


• After trailing a few methods, we will look at ways we can influence policy and procedures so that methodologies for collection can become more mainstream in our community at a local and government level.

The impact metrics for this project will include: 

• 100,000 containers donated


• $10,000 raised from container refunds


• 1.3M grams of plastic diverted from landfill (@ 13.7 grams per plastic bottle) 


• At least two circular economy projects supported 


• At least three businesses involved 


• At least 50 volunteers involved (including our Shapers) 


• 100 volunteer hours 


• $2650 monetary value of volunteer support @ $26.50ph


• #cost-saving for local government (to be determined)