IN the early days of the Return and Earn scheme, Bathurst Recycling would process 5000 to 10,000 cans and bottles a day.
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And now?
"It's between 60,000 and 70,000 a day," manager Craig Clark said at an informal event held at the business recently to mark the fact the scheme has now collected more than three billion containers statewide.
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Bathurst Recycling, which has three sorting machines, has processed almost 20 million containers (out of Bathurst's total 43.1 million containers) since the Return and Earn scheme began just over two years ago.
"We're really proud of the way the community has taken it on board," Mr Clark said. "They know how important it is to recycle instead of throwing it into landfill."
The NSW Government's Return and Earn - in which bottles and cans are worth 10 cents each - had a troubled start in Bathurst, but has since been embraced by the city.
The city has had three Return and Earn sites - reverse vending machines at the Community Op-Shop at Kelso and Service NSW on the Mitchell Highway, and Bathurst Recycling's depot at Gormans Hill - since January 2018 and they are all kept busy.
"People want to do their part to protect the environment," Member for Bathurst Paul Toole said. "We're even seeing people cleaning up on the sides of some of our roads and streets and they are a lot cleaner than they have been in the past."
Mr Clark said Bathurst Recycling had worked hard to make it easier for people to return bottles and cans, including setting up a mobile pick-up service that now travels as far as Tottenham and Gulargambone to collect people's containers.
He said those bringing their Return and Earn containers to Bathurst Recycling didn't have to sort them into different materials.
"Cans, bottles and plastic can all be put together, which makes it easier for people," he said.
He said a variety of people brought bottles and cans to Bathurst Recycling - from those who collect small items on a regular basis to those who take up the option of donating their proceeds to a charity.
"People might bring in 15 to 20 cartons at a time and dump it in the donation bin and it's really heartening to see that," Mr Clark said.
"Most of them will say 'can you donate to this one for us', which we do."
Mr Toole said recyclers in NSW can donate to Bottles for the Bush on all reverse vending machines until February 23. Money raised will go towards helping farmers and rural families affected by drought and the recent bushfires, he said.
