Earn and Return 11 billion container milestone
25th February 2024

NSW is celebrating a major milestone of 11 billion containers recycled through the Return and Earn program and the Lake Macquarie community have made an incredible contribution.
Since the program first started Lake Macquarie LGA residents have recycled 364,811,686 bottles, cans and cartons! The positive impact of this recycling effort is equivalent of:
Energy savings equal to the average annual use of 3,805 households
CO2 emissions avoided equal to taking 16,253 cars off the road
Water savings that could fill 857 Olympic pools
Congratulations Lake Macquarie, what a fantastic effort!
Since the scheme has been introduced $1.1 billion in refunds have gone back to the community, with millions being directly refunded to charities, local community groups and schools.
Earn and Return points can be found in Fassifern, Wangi Wangi, Bonnells Bay and Wyee. You can find out more information here.