City's first Return and Earn bulk processing depot lands in Rutherford

On Friday, June 7 more than 50 people attended the grand opening of the automated depot, including Jenny Aitchison MP and representatives from St Vincent De Paul Society, NSW EPA, TOMRA Cleanaway, Exchance for Change and the Rotary Club of East Maitland.

Since it opened in April, the depot has processed about 400,000 containers.

Depots are staffed bulk container return centres, and before the opening of the Rutherford site, customers had to travel to Carrington or Cardiff.

The bulk-processing facility is designed to quickly process large amounts of eligible drink containers and also supports community fundraising efforts for local not-for-profit groups and charities.

Maitland residents are already enthusiastic recyclers, with more than 128 million containers returned through four local return points available in the area.

In April 2023, The Mercury reported Maitland was in need of another Return and Earn facility after the city hit the milestone of more than 100 million containers recycled.

The depot is operated by Vinnies NSW, and is the organisation's 10th Return and Earn depot in NSW.

Vinnies' partnership with Return and Earn provides the organisation with an important revenue stream, supporting programs and services that help people experiencing poverty and disadvantage.

Member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison said Return and Earn is hugely successful, with more than 11.5 billion bottles, cans and cartons returned in NSW since the scheme began.

"This new depot is the fifth return point for the area, so it's now even easier for locals to make Return and Earn a part of their recycling routine and keep eligible drink bottles, cans and cartons out of landfill," she said.

The new Rutherford Return and Earn depot is at 111 Racecourse Road, and is open from 8.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Saturday.

TOMRA Cleanaway chief executive officer James Dorney said Return and Earn has put more than $1 billion back into the pockets of NSW residents.

"We're delighted to again partner with the amazing Vinnies team to provide the people of Maitland and surrounds with this convenient new location to recycle your eligible bottles and cans and help your local environment," he said.

"Return and Earn's automated depots are an important part of the return point network, and enable not-for-profits like St Vincent de Paul to put more money back into the local community with every recycled container, all while helping the environment and providing local jobs."