Local business owners and managers have raised concerns in recent weeks, saying the recycling point in George St is consistently unavailable because it is always full.
Deniliquin Golf Club manager Norm Purtill said each time he has tried to use the service to recycle the club’s used containers, he’s noted a number of cars with interstate registrations at the facility.
He is concerned it will deter locals from doing the right thing, out of sheer frustration.
‘‘Our club is run by volunteers, and we can’t go down to recycle our containers during the day,’’ Mr Purtill said.
‘‘By the time we can there after work, it’s full or has a line of users with Victorian number plates already in front of the machines and we can’t get rid of our recycling.
‘‘Our club and the community is trying to actively recycle, and we can’t because the bins are always full.
‘‘At one stage the club had a full room of bagged up recyclables and nowhere to put them.
‘‘In having the service available we’ve been able to halve our garbage waste and halve our expenses on waste removal.’’
A spokesperson for the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) — which oversees the Return and Earn scheme — said there is constant monitoring of large scale cross border redemption which could impact on the viability of the scheme.
The department says “to date, there is no evidence that this has occurred’’.
But Deniliquin Central Celebrations manager Troy Bright has questioned how the department is policing this so close to the border.
Given his vantage point near the facility, located just metres from the bottle shop, he too has noticed an increase in Victorian plated cars using the service.
He said these out-of-area users are taking advantage of the service, and don’t appear to be reinvesting in the local economy.
‘‘The money isn’t being spent back in our community, it is being taken back across the border,’’ Mr Bright said.
‘‘I would estimate that of all the money raised from recycling waste here, only five or six per cent of it is being kept in our community.
‘‘It is a failed system. It is supposed to help people clear recycling for cash to be spent and benefit our community but it’s not happening.
‘‘There is a $40,000 fine for misuse of the machines, but there’s no point in having the restrictions if they aren’t being enforced.”
Mr Purtill has expressed his desire for an additional collection point in Deniliquin, but said he is not confident it will be granted.
‘‘We have offered to have one at the club, but that doesn’t seem to be an option,’’ he said.
The DPIE said the return vending scheme was created to encourage all Australian residents to use the machines and support the NSW economy.
Its spokesperson said work is ongoing in the quest to make sure they can be used when needed.
‘‘The scheme is not for New South Wales residents only; it is for anyone who has purchased their drink container in New South Wales,’’ a department spokesperson said.
‘‘People who live on the border often live, work and shop on both sides of the border. It is not illegal for a person from another state to redeem a container they have purchased in New South Wales.
‘‘The Deniliquin Return Vending Machine is emptied daily, seven days a week and is monitored daily by TOMRA Cleanaway.
‘‘The popularity of the Return and Earn scheme has continued to increase across the state, particularly over the summer period when beverage consumption was high.
‘‘TOMRA Cleanaway is investigating options to improve the availability of return points including in the border region.’’