s for the purposes of the Queensland Container Refund Scheme Introduction Queensland s Container Refund Scheme will commence on 1 July 2018. This follows the commencement of the NSW Container Deposit Scheme (Return and Earn) on 1 December 2017. The objects of the scheme are to increase the amount of beverage container recovery and recycling and reduce the number of beverage containers that end up disposed to landfill or in the litter stream. Consistent with the NSW scheme, empty containers 150ml to 3litres are eligible for a 10c refund when they are taken to any container refund point located across the state. In Queensland people may also choose to donate their empty containers at a container collection point that may be located at, for example a school, Surf Lifesaving Club, charity, scout hall or sporting club. In this circumstance the recipient of the containers gets the benefit of the 10c refund. Where kerbside collections are in place in Queensland, people may also choose to continue to recycle their containers through this service. Eligible containers may be manufactured from the following materials: Aluminium Glass HPDE Liquid paperboard PET Steel Legislative framework The Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 (Act) provides the head of power for the introduction of the scheme. The scheme is a product stewardship arrangement that will be run by a Product Responsibility Organisation (PRO). The provisions of the Act ensure that beverage manufacturers meet their product stewardship responsibility in relation to beverage products that they put on the market. The Act provides the meaning of a manufacturer for the purposes of the scheme. The beverage manufacturer is the person who will enter into the container recovery agreement with the Product Responsibility Organisation to ensure that the beverage manufacturer contributes to the cost of the scheme, including, for example, the cost of the refund amounts that are paid under the scheme for empty beverage containers that are taken to container refund points. s99o Meaning of manufacturer 1. A person is a manufacturer of a beverage product if the person a. makes the beverage product, including, for example i. by filling containers with a beverage or ii. engaging another person under a contract to make the beverage product or fill containers with a beverage for the person; or b. imports the beverage product from a foreign country; or c. arranges for the distribution of the beverage product in 2. For subsection (1)(a) and (b), it does not matter whether the beverage product is made in, or imported into, Queensland or another state.
From 1 July 2018 the Act places restrictions on beverage manufacturers about selling a beverage product into 99P Restriction on manufacturer selling beverage product 1. A manufacturer of a beverage product must not sell the beverage product to another person to use or consume in Queensland, or to sell for use, consumption or further sale in Queensland, unless a. a container recovery agreement is in force for the type of container used for the beverage product; and b. the container is registered; and c. the container displays (i) the refund marking; and (ii) a barcode for the beverage product. Maximum penalty 500 penalty units. 2. For this section, it does not matter whether the beverage manufacturer sells the beverage product in Queensland, in another State or somewhere else. Transitional provisions apply in respect of the refund marking and barcode mentioned in 1(c)(i) and (ii). s will have 24 months from the date the refund mark is published to display it on the container. Containers will be eligible under the Queensland scheme until this time if they carry the refund mark used in either South Australia, the Northern Territory or NSW. This allows for containers that have already been manufactured or that are already in the market (stock in trade) to come through the system as much as possible. The Act also provides an additional six months from the end of the transition period where the container refund point operator can still accept containers that do not display the scheme refund mark. Container approvals and registration The PRO must keep and maintain a register of approved containers. An approved container is a beverage container for which a current approval exists under another state or territory s scheme or where it isn t approved in another state or territory, is approved in The container register must contain details for each approved container including the material the container, including its label, is made of; the manufacturer of the beverage product who holds the approval; the barcode for the beverage product; the jurisdiction the approval is granted if the approval was granted in another jurisdiction and any conditions of the approval. The register must be kept as a searchable, public register. Where an approval doesn t already exist, a beverage manufacturer may apply to the chief executive of the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection for approval of a beverage container. The chief executive may grant the approval only if satisfied that specific matters prescribed in the Act are met. The chief executive may also refuse a container approval. A container approval may be amended, transferred, suspended or cancelled. A beverage manufacturer for the purposes of the CRS needs to ensure that a relevant container approval is in place and the container is registered. The necessary approval may be held by any beverage manufacturer.
Container recovery agreement A container recovery agreement is a written agreement between the PRO and a beverage manufacturer. The purpose of the agreement is to ensure that manufacturers participate in the scheme by contributing to the costs of running the scheme and recovering the empty containers. s who do not have a container recovery agreement with the PRO will be considered to be free-riding on the scheme. The Act imposes penalties for free-riding to ensure that scheme costs are applied equitably across the sector. The agreement will also state the manufacturer s obligations regarding giving information to the PRO about the beverage products that are made or imported for sale in The PRO must not enter into an agreement with a beverage manufacturer unless the PRO is satisfied that ongoing, effective and appropriate arrangements are in place for the container to be collected, sorted and recycled. Timing by when beverage manufacturers must enter into a container recovery agreement are still being determined and this will be communicated as soon as possible. Who is the beverage manufacturer in Queensland? In Queensland the beverage manufacturer is the person who owns the beverage product. For the purposes of the CRS in Queensland if an entity is simply in possession of the beverage product that is being sold into or put on the market in Queensland in most circumstances they will not be the beverage manufacturer. For example, transporters that deliver the beverage products into Queensland on behalf of a manufacturer are not beverage manufacturers as, even though they are in possession of the goods they do not own the goods. In respect of a brand owner if they have manufactured the product but have sold the product direct to a distributor the brand owner is no longer the owner of the product as ownership has transferred to the purchaser in this case the distributor. There are several different scenarios around this and Table 1 outlines the main examples of who may be a beverage manufacturer for the purposes of entering into a container recovery agreement with the PRO. It should be noted that this is not a definitive list of examples and there may be variances in contracts and arrangements where individual advice and determination will need to be sought. Table 1 Scenario Scenario 1 Brand A has a manufacturing plant in Queensland and makes beverage products eligible under the scheme at this plant (domestic manufacture). Brand A supplies these products direct to customers in Scenario 2 Brand B has a manufacturing plant in another state and makes beverage products eligible under the scheme at this plant (external manufacture). Brand B sends product direct to Queensland customers. Scenario 3 Brand C contracts the bottling of their beverage products eligible under the scheme to company A located in Brand A is the beverage manufacturer for s99o (1)(a)(i). Brand B is the beverage manufacturer for s99o (1)(a)(i). Brand C is the beverage manufacturer for s99o (1)(a)(ii).
These products are sent direct to customers of Brand C located in Scenario 4 Brand D contracts the filling of their beverage products eligible under the scheme to company B located outside These products are sent from the filling company direct to customers of Brand D in Scenario 5 Brand E manufactures beverage products eligible under the scheme at an overseas facility. Brand E direct imports and distributes the product into Scenario 6 Brand F has a manufacturing facility in state A (outside Queensland) and sells the beverage product to a distributor with a distribution warehouse in state B (outside Queensland). The distributor transports the beverage products and sells into Scenario 7 A distributor is a customer of Brand G. The distributor delivers mixed products, including Brand G products, to a range of customers in Queensland including cafes, restaurants and hotels. Scenario 8 Brand H manufactures beverage products in state A (outside Queensland) and sells the product to a retailer with a warehouse in state A. The retailer distributes beverage product from this warehouse directly to their stores in Brand D is the beverage manufacturer for s99o (1)(a)(ii). Brand E is the beverage manufacturer for s99o (1)(b). The distributor is the beverage manufacturer for s99o (1)(c). The distributor is the beverage manufacturer for s99o (1)(c). The retailer is the beverage manufacturer for s99o (1)(c). The information provided in Table 2 specifically relates to when a person engages another person under a contract to make the beverage product or fill containers with a beverage for the person. There are likely to be very few circumstances where the contract filler is the beverage manufacturer for the purposes of the scheme. The following scenarios are provided as guidance to understand who the beverage manufacturer is in various circumstances. It should be noted that this is not a definitive list of examples and there may be variances in contracts and arrangements where individual advice and determination will need to be sought. Table 2 Contract filler or manufacturer (s99o(1)(a)(ii)) Scenario Scenario 1 Brand A is located in Queensland and contracts a filler to fill beverage containers to order and to Brand A s specifications. The beverage product is collected from the filler s factory by a third party transporter and transported to customers in Scenario 2 Brand B contracts a filler to bottle a beverage product according to Brand B s formula. The Brand A is the beverage manufacturer. The contract filler is filling to an order and Brand A is their customer. The people that Brand A is filling the order for are not the customers of the contract filler and the contract filler does not necessarily have visibility over where the beverages are sold nor does the contractor own the product. Brand B is the beverage manufacturer. Irrespective of whether the contract filler provides the beverage containers they have
contract filler provides the bottles as per Brand B s requirements, including Brand B s labels. Brand B takes delivery of the finished product in Queensland and sells to customers in Scenario 3 Brand C is located in Queensland and contracts a filler to bottle a beverage. The filler provides the bottles and the raw ingredients for the beverage product as part of the contract arrangements. Both the bottles and the product are manufactured according to Brand C s requirements. Scenario 4 Brand D is located in NSW and contracts a filler in Queensland to fill containers provided by Brand D. Brand D arranges transport and direct distribution of the finished product to their customers in provided and filled the containers under contract to Brand B and do not own the finished product. Brand C is the beverage manufacturer. Even though the filler has provided the beverage containers and the raw ingredients for the beverage they have done so under contract to Brand C. They do not own the finished product. Brand D is the beverage manufacturer. The contractor is filling an order for their customer who is Brand D.