The Revenue in Your Rubbish: Turning Sports Venues’ Waste into Value
Across every game day, concert and event, thousands of drink containers pass through stadium gates, but most venues are only just beginning to realise the value hidden in those bottles and cans.
Since launching in November 2023, Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS Vic), coordinated by VicReturn, has already seen more than one billion containers returned. The next frontier? Helping Australia’s sporting and event venues embed circular systems that make recycling not just easy, but profitable.
From Waste to Resource
At Sport Environment Alliance’s recent SEA Summit, VicReturn led a workshop that brought facility managers and venue operators together to explore how CDS Vic can be integrated into everyday operations. The message was clear: when facilities shift their thinking from waste management to resource recovery, they unlock both environmental and commercial benefits.
Venues like the Australian Open are already proving what’s possible, collecting almost one million containers this year alone and donating nearly $100,000 in refunds to the Australian Tennis Foundation.
Designing for Circularity
Embedding container recovery starts with design. From clearly labelled, contamination-free bins to secure storage and staff training, small operational changes can create consistent revenue streams and measurable sustainability outcomes.
VicReturn encourages venues to integrate CDS infrastructure into cleaning contracts, new builds and refurbishment projects - making resource recovery part of the playbook rather than an afterthought.
Innovation and the Future of Recycling
Globally, deposit schemes are achieving return rates above 90 percent in countries like Germany and Norway. Here in Australia, AI technology is beginning to drive smarter systems too.
At VicReturn’s Dandenong South depot, the CountAIner - the only AI-powered recycling machine of its kind in the southern hemisphere — can sort up to 1,500 containers per minute, paving the way for data-driven waste management across Australia’s sports and event venues.
Why It Matters for Sport
As Australia prepares for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, there’s an unprecedented opportunity to design precincts and fan zones that embed circularity from the ground up — turning refunds into funding for community sport and environmental programs.
VicReturn’s CEO Jim Round puts it simply:
“The goal isn’t just to make recycling easier - it’s to make resource recovery a normal, profitable and expected part of doing business.”
📄 Read the full article: “The Revenue in Your Rubbish” by Jim Round, Facility Management Magazine – October 2025