Western Australia to accept wine and spirit bottles in refund scheme from 2026

The Government of Western Australia has confirmed that its Containers for Change deposit return scheme will be extended to cover additional packaging formats, including wine and spirit bottles, from 1 July 2026.

The expansion will mean almost all beverage containers between 150 millilitres and 3 litres will be eligible for refunds at collection points across the state.

Items set to be included are:

• glass wine and spirit bottles
• wine packaged in plastic
• casks and sachets
• water packaged in casks
• concentrated fruit and vegetable juices
• flavoured milk and cordial

Plain milk containers and registered health tonics will remain excluded from the scheme and should continue to be disposed of via household recycling bins.

Since its launch in October 2020, Containers for Change has raised recycling rates in Western Australia from 35% to 65%, with more than 4.5 billion containers collected for recycling up to July 2025. The government expects the upcoming expansion to add around 200 million containers to the scheme annually, including up to 130 million glass bottles.

Glass already has the highest return rate of all packaging types at around 80%, with 39,000 tonnes of glass recycled into new bottles during the 2023–24 financial year.

Premier Roger Cook, said: My government is committed to protecting and restoring our environment, and an important part of this is reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill. Western Australians have strongly embraced Containers for Change, saving billions of containers from landfill and generating millions of dollars for local charities and community groups. By expanding this popular program to include wine and spirit bottles we are making it easier to recycle - opening the scheme to an estimated 200 million additional containers each year. With more than 840 jobs created through the Containers for Change program to date, this expansion will help diversify our economy and create more employment opportunities for Western Australians.

The scheme has also provided fundraising opportunities, with more than $16.7 million donated to charities, schools and community groups since its introduction.