BATHURST’S Return and Earn centres have become a nice little earner for many people in the community.
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The city has four options for people wanting to return items as part of the NSW Government’s container deposit scheme, including three reverse vending machines (RVM) and an automated bulky recycling depot.
The bulky depot opened at Bathurst Recycling on Upfold Street in late February and the machine can count and sort 100 items a minute.
- Read more: City’s RVM relocated due to complaints
Georges Plains man Wayne Stanton said he recently decided to combine his daily walk with collecting recyclable items.
“I’ve been collecting these from the side of the road,” he said. “It’s an easy way to make some extra money.”
Mr Stanton said it was “absolutely disgusting” how many cans, bottles and other rubbish he came across during his daily walk.
The cost of canned and bottled beer, and soft drinks increased by up to 15 cents on November 1 last year, with the government offering a 10 cent an item refund at its Return and Earn sites.
Almost one million items have been returned in Bathurst since the scheme was introduced.
Bathurst’s RVMs are located at the Bathurst Community Op Shop in Kelso (434,265 items returned here), Service NSW (302,755 items) and Bathurst Recycling (209,746).