Damian Gordon, a 36-year-old Australian citizen, has achieved what many consider impossible: gathering the necessary money for his home deposit by recycling bottles and cans. Thanks to his perseverance, he managed to save nearly 46,000 Australian dollars—about 41,000 euros—in seven years, which allowed him to purchase a house in the Central Coast region of New South Wales.
The feat was made possible thanks to the “Return and Earn” system, an initiative driven by the local government that encourages recycling through economic rewards. For each container deposited, citizens receive 10 Australian cents, a little more than half a euro cent. According to official figures, this system allows for the recycling of between five and seven million containers per day, which is equivalent to about 6,000 per minute.
In a television interview, Gordon explained that his initial idea was to save for a vacation, but the arrival of the pandemic changed his plans. “Suddenly, the money
Novelis celebrates ten years in the Nachterstedt recycling center
the deposit return system in ireland has collected more than 5.6 million beverage containers.
MetalMatters: the initiative that promotes metal recycling in your home
Latvia takes a step towards sustainability with deposit return system for beverage containers
The volume of recycled aluminum containers has skyrocketed
CALIFORNIA HAS $600 MILLION IN UNSIGNED RECYCLED ALUMINUM CAN STOCKPILES
U.S. ALUMINUM CAN PRODUCERS TO PUSH FOR DEPOSIT LEGISLATION
Netherlands to charge 15 cents deposit per canned drink sold
