Eligible Containers

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What We Recycle

Want to donate some soft drink cans? How about 250ml plastic water bottles? You can! Most aluminium, glass, plastic, steel and liquid paperboard beverage containers between 150ml and 3L are eligible for a 10-cent refund. We accept eligible containers at our Cairns Recycling centres throughout the region, including Smithfield, Portsmith, Mareeba, Edmonton, Gordonvale and Mackay.


Many containers now display a refund mark, such as 10-cent refund at collection depots in participating State/Territory of purchase. To check if your container can be recycled, you can also search the barcode or product type through the Containers for Change eligibility checker.


Wine and spirit bottles are coming soon!

The Queensland Government has announced that we'll be expanding our eligible drink containers to include wine and spirit bottles from

November 2023.

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  • Symbols For No Rubbish, Tops Off And No Coffee Cups — Cairns Recycling in Smithfield, QLD

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  • Symbols For No Rubbish, Tops Off And No Coffee Cups — Cairns Recycling in Smithfield, QLD

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Symbols For No Rubbish, Tops Off And No Coffee Cups — Cairns Recycling in Smithfield, QLD
Many Different Container Types — Cairns Recycling in Smithfield, QLD

Excluded Container Types

While we're able to recycle many different beverage containers, there are some container types that are not eligible for a refund. Generally, excluded containers are those that are the wrong volume. We cannot accept containers less than 150ml or greater than 3L.


Containers we cannot recycle:


  • Plain milk containers of all sizes including plant-based milk substitutes
  • Glass containers that contained wine or pure spirits
  • Containers 1L or more that contained flavoured milk, pure fruit or vegetable juice, cask wine or cask water
  • Concentrated/undiluted cordial or syrup containers
  • Sachets above 250ml that have contained wine
  • Registered health tonics


Learn more about how it works here.

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