FAQs

First responsible suppliers that supply eligible beverage containers into Western Australia will fund the scheme. The contribution that each business makes to the scheme will be based on their sales in Western Australia.

The price charged per container differs across the nine material types accepted by the scheme.

Section 47D(1) of The Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 as amended by the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Amendment (Container deposit scheme) 2019 states subject to the regulations, the first responsible supplier of a beverage product is:

The person who first supplies the beverage product in the State; or

The person who, under the regulations, is taken to be the first responsible supplier of the beverage product.

The amount a manufacturer contributes is based on the number of products each manufacturer sells in eligible containers in Western Australia.

The below table summarises the contribution required by material type.

Please note, these prices:

• are based on container redemption rates of 42% redeemed through refund points, with 22.1% of containers redeemed at material recycling facilities (MRFs) (eligible containers thrown away in Council recycling bins which end up at MRFs)
• apply at the start of the scheme – the cost of running the scheme will change over time as more customers take the opportunity to redeem containers.

It is expected that the costs of running the scheme will change over time as the scheme becomes established and more customers take up the opportunity to return their eligible containers and receive a refund.

WARRRL will aim to set the scheme prices in advance for each six-month period to assist beverage suppliers with budget planning requirements.

WARRRL will issue a monthly invoice to each first responsible supplier for their share of costs based on the number of eligible containers they have supplied into Western Australia and the price for the relevant material types for the prior month. 

Smaller first responsible suppliers, who supply less than 300,000 containers in a financial year (“minor beverage suppliers” as defined in the regulations) will be issued quarterly invoices, based on their actual containers from the previous quarter.

This means that all first responsible suppliers pay in arrears for the scheme, with small businesses paying four months after scheme commencement and then quarterly after the initial period to assist with cashflow management.

Most beverage suppliers will be required to provide WARRRL with a declaration on the volume of beverages supplied/sold into Western Australia in the previous month.

Minor beverage suppliers (under 300,000 containers per financial year) will be required to provide a quarterly declaration of the volume of beverages supplied/sold into Western Australia.

As set out in the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (Container Deposit Scheme) Regulations 2019, a “minor beverage supplier” is defined as:

3. (3) For the purposes of the definition of minor beverage supplier in section 47U(1) of the Act, a beverage supplier who is likely to supply less than 300 000 beverage products in a financial year (including, for the avoidance of doubt, beverage products that are not supplied in the State), is prescribed to be a minor beverage supplier for that financial year.

Minor beverage suppliers’ eligibility will be assessed annually.

The Western Australian Government appointed WA Return Recycle Renew Limited (WARRRL) to establish and operate Western Australia’s container deposit scheme.

WARRRL is a registered not-for-profit (NFP) organisation and is committed to establishing an effective, convenient, accessible and low-cost container deposit scheme for Western Australia; ensuring consumers can collect a 10c refund for each eligible container and that the scheme provides significant benefits through reduced beverage container litter, increased recycling rates and opportunities for community participation and involvement.

First responsible suppliers will be required to register all eligible containers and provide a declaration of the 12-month history of containers by material type supplied into Western Australia (count by material type only – no product specific information or SKU data is required). All information is treated as commercially confidential.

First responsible suppliers are charged only for their share of the overall costs of the scheme. This includes the cost of refund amounts paid for containers redeemed, plus operational costs of running the scheme (such as refund point handling fees, logistics and processing costs, and other overheads of WARRRL). WARRRL does not derive any profit from operating the scheme, as it is a registered not-for-profit entity.

From the commencement date, it will be an offence under the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 to supply eligible beverage products into WA unless the supplier has both entered into a Supplier Agreement with WARRRL and has the relevant container approvals in place.

All first responsible suppliers will be required to enter into a Supplier Agreement with WARRRL and register their eligible containers prior to the scheme commencement date. From this date, it will be an offence under the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 to supply eligible beverage products into WA unless the supplier has both entered into a Supplier Agreement and has the relevant container approvals in place.

In addition, first responsible suppliers will need to provide 12 months of supply data to WARRRL.

WARRRL will have both the supplier portal (where first responsible suppliers can register and obtain the Supplier Agreement) and the product registry live prior to scheme commencement. Further updates will be communicated to first responsible suppliers on our contact list in due course and through our upcoming supplier forums.

To join our beverage industry mailing list please email commercial@warrrl.com.au and provide your contact details.

Information presented at WARRRL’s beverage industry forums is available on WARRRL’s online Resources portal. Email commercial@warrrl.com.au to gain access.

Other information is available at www.warrrl.com.au.

Parallel importers are captured by the container deposit scheme. They can rely on the product registration if it is held by another party. It must be the exact product, that is, parallel importers will need to validate the container’s barcode.

No, you will not be subject to the scheme’s costs in Western Australia. If your beverage product is not sold to a party in Western Australia no container deposit scheme costs are payable, assuming your containers move from the manufacturing warehouse in WA to the customer’s warehouse in the non-container deposit scheme State.

Yes, these are captured under the scheme. The contract manufacturer is responsible up to the contract volume of 300,000 units. Beyond this the contracting party has liability. Refer to regulation 3E.

Returnable/refillable containers are not eligible containers under the container deposit scheme and are exempt from scheme costs. Refer to regulation 3B.

Refillable containers are not eligible containers under the container deposit scheme and are exempt from scheme costs. Additionally, as these bottles are captured in and do not leave the venue, they are more a form of crockery, that is: there is no intention of selling the container only the beverage in it. Refer to regulation 3B.

All eligible containers must be approved by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation in accordance with Division 3 of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (Container Deposit Scheme) Regulations 2019. The database of containers is continuously updated as new approvals are provided.

Visit Containers for Change to search for eligible containers.