Precinct partners drive impressive change at Northshore Brisbane

Big change is happening at Northshore Brisbane.

Containers for Change Queensland’s container recycling scheme has released its sustainability statistics for Northshore Brisbane and the numbers are staggering.

Seven precinct partners have signed on to the scheme and, from 1 January to 31 October 2024, collected a whopping 78,407 drink containers.

40 tonnes of containers have already been recycled, in particular a shout out to Eat Street Northshore, Pink Flamingo and Superordinary!

And with 10 cents for every plastic, aluminium, glass, steel and liquid paperboard drink container deposited, these partners have collectively donated $7,840 to their nominated charities.

It’s not just residents and workers making an impact with a public Containers for Change bag drop station that opened in Dock C Car Park in April 2024 also receiving 33,579 drink containers in its first eight months.

These users can choose to keep their funds or donate them, including to Northshore Brisbane community organisations such as Brisbane Tool Library, Northshore Men’s Shed Inc. and Hamilton Reach Community Association.

A rejuvenating and sustainable lifestyle is ingrained in Northshore Brisbane’s vision for the future, and this partnership with Containers for Change is the latest in a suite of eco-initiatives.

It is also one with immediate and tangible results, as outlined in Northshore Brisbane’s Environmental and Social Impact Report, released by Containers for Change to coincide with National Recycling Week (11 to 17 November 2024).

The report calculated that in the first 10 months of 2024, container collections at Northshore Brisbane’s seven precinct partner sites saved:

• 1 tonnes of CO² – the same as taking 5.5 cars off the road
• 1 gigajoules of energy – the annual consumption of 2.8 average households
• 37,922 kilolitres of water – more than 15 Olympic-sized swimming pools
• 7 cubic metres of waste from landfill – almost 103 wheelie bins.

The impact is even more remarkable when taking into account the containers collected at Dock C’s public bag drop.

Driving the precinct’s impressive container recycling numbers is Eat Street Northshore which donates the proceeds of its returns to Variety – the Children’s Charity.

A long-time Containers for Change participant, Eat Street Northshore joined the precinct partners program in September, collecting 11,659 containers in that month alone.

In October, it collected a staggering 43,880 drink containers, recording an enormous 276 per cent increase in just one month.

If Eat Street Northshore continues at this pace, it is on track to divert about 140,000 containers from landfill by the end of 2024.

Eat Street Northshore Venue Manager Wendy Lacey said Containers for Change was just one of several recycling initiatives the leading leisure destination employed.

Plastic bottle caps and other lids are sent to a recycling company who turns them into plastic food linings and building materials.  Compostable packaging is mandatory for vendor on site, which allows this waste to be placed through a heating system with similar waste and turned into mulch, that is used in many public spaces.

About 16 cubic metres of cardboard are compacted and recycled each week, 20L oil tins and large fruit and vegetable tins are sent to scrap metal and plastic buckets are collected, cleaned and reused.

Additionally, about one tonne of food waste is collected weekly and used as animal feed and oyster shells are collected, washed, dried and used by OzFish to build artificial reefs in Moreton Bay.

“There’s very little going to general waste; we’re either reusing or recycling in some shape or form but we’re always looking for more we can do,” Ms Lacey says.

For more information about eligible containers and making a difference, visit How it works | Containers for Change.

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