Refund sharing agreements
Material Recovery Facility (MRF) operators are able to claim Return and Earn processing refunds for beverage containers collected during domestic waste management services in a local council area.
Refund sharing notification
Clause 18 of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (Container Deposit Scheme) Regulation 2017 specifies the requirements to be eligible to claim. Specifically, processing refunds are not payable unless:
- the council has entered into a refund sharing agreement with the MRF operator and has notified the EPA that it considers the agreement to be fair and reasonable (cl 18(2)(b)) or
- the council has notified the EPA that it considers that it is fair and reasonable that there is no refund sharing agreeement in force with the MRF operator considers that it is fair and reasonable that there is no refund sharing agreement in force with the MRF operator (cl 18(2)(a)(i))
Where a council and MRF operator have entered into a processing agreement on or after 1 December 2017 there is no requirement for a council to notify the EPA.
A council that owns and/or operates a MRF must also meet the requirements of clause 18(2).
How does a council make a notification to the EPA?
Councils can notify the EPA of a refund sharing agreement (or the absence of one) using the Notification Form (PDF 103KB), or by providing all the relevant details in an email.
Notifications can be sent by email to MRF.Protocol@epa.nsw.gov.au or by post to EPA Container Deposit Scheme Compliance Unit, Locked Bag 5022, Parramatta, NSW 2124.
Notifications are recorded by the EPA and provided to the Scheme Coordinator, Exchange for Change, who is responsible for assessing refund claims from MRF Operators.
Refund sharing agreement notification