Expanding Containers for Change is a win for WA’s economy, environment and community
The 1st of July 2026 marked an important milestone for Western Australia.
The expansion of the Containers for Change scheme to include wine, spirit and large-format juice bottles will add around 200 million more containers to be recycled every year.
While this is undoubtedly good news for our environment, it is equally significant for Western Australians who benefit from the jobs, opportunities and community outcomes the scheme creates.
At Good Sammy, we see those benefits every day.
As Western Australia’s largest social enterprise, container recycler and disability employer in the Scheme, we process around 75 million containers annually through our network of seven refund points, more than 30 bag drop sites and over 1,000 community collection locations. More than 100 of our employees work directly in our container operations, including 40 people living with disability.
Across all of our operations, Good Sammy employs 850 Western Australians, including 430 with disability, and serves more than 1.2 million customers each year.
For us, Containers for Change has never been just about recycling. It is about creating employment for people who face barriers to work by delivering a quality and sustainable service that our customers need.
That was always part of the vision.
The WA Parliament deliberately recognised the role of social enterprises within the Scheme when it was created, ensuring it would deliver environmental outcomes alongside social and economic benefits. This is set out in Section 47A of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Amendment (Container Deposit) Act 2019 for the Scheme to provide opportunities for social enterprise.
Consumers also have more power than they may realise. Every eligible container attracts not only the familiar 10-cent refund, but also a handling fee paid to collection operators like Good Sammy. When people understand that choosing a social enterprise like Good Sammy means those funds help employ people with disability and others facing barriers to work, many deliberately choose profit and purpose.
This latest expansion means more containers, more recycling and more revenue flowing back into Western Australian households, sporting clubs, charities and community organisations. It also creates greater capacity for organisations like Good Sammy to employ more Western Australians while supporting the growth of our state’s circular economy and reducing waste sent to landfill.
The disability employment need has never been greater.
Around 100,000 Western Australians aged between 16 and 65 living with disability remain without employment. Behind that figure are thousands of people who want the opportunity to contribute, earn an income and build independence. Social enterprises exist to make those opportunities possible, but they need sustainable business models to do so.
Containers for Change is one of the better examples of government policy delivering multiple benefits at once. It rewards households for recycling, supports local businesses and charities, creates employment for people facing disadvantage and keeps valuable resources in circulation rather than buried in landfill.
As the scheme expands, Western Australians have an opportunity to maximise its impact through the choices they make about where they return their containers. Every bottle can help build a cleaner environment, a stronger economy and a more inclusive community.
That is a return worth far more than 10 cents.
Written by Kane Blackman, Chief Executive Officer, Good Sammy Enterprises.
