Australian Grape and Wine (AGW) CEO Lee McLean has responded to claims made by the Boomerang Alliance on Tuesday which alleged there was an increased recycle rate in relation to Queensland’s inclusion of wine bottles in its CDS.

McLean raised concerns over statements made by Jeff Angel, director of the Boomerang Alliance, which claimed that the Queensland Container Refund Scheme was reporting “14% more glass bottle returns since inclusion of wine on 1 November.”

“It is crucial to understand methodology behind these figures before drawing such a conclusion,” said McLean.

“The 14% increase in glass bottle returns, as stated, pertains exclusively to bottles returned to Container Refund Points, encompassing both reverse vending machines and manual handling depots,” said McLean.

“Notably absent from this equation is the inclusion of the number of bottles returned via existing kerbside recycling, and how these figures compare to the same period in the previous year.

“It is important to recognise that a genuine increase in glass bottle returns cannot be conclusively claimed without considering the possibility of a mere shift in disposal practices – from the kerbside recycling bin to the container refund points.  This shift may not necessarily reflect a substantive change in consumer behaviour but rather a redistribution of collection methods.

“To accurately assess the impact of the inclusion of wine bottles in the scheme, we need figures from the Materials Recovery Facilities.  These figures, expected in mid-January, will include bottles processed through kerbside recycling, and enable a more robust comparison against data from the preceding year.

“Drawing definitive conclusions regarding the success or failure of the initiative without considering all facets of glass bottle disposal, and comparison over time, would be premature.”

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