South East Queensland’s first solar-powered Containers for Change Reverse Vending Machine has landed at the Great Western Super Centre in Keperra, and since launching in April it has already processed more than 88,000 containers, putting over $8,800 in 10-cent refunds directly back into the hands of locals.
The machine, built by Queensland green technology company Ecoboxtec and operated by Community Co Recycling, adds a genuinely new dimension to Keperra’s shopping precinct on Wardell Street. Residents can now return their empty cans and bottles at the same time as their weekly grocery run, earning cash refunds or donating them directly to charity, all powered by Queensland sunshine rather than the grid.
For a suburb that sits within one of the city’s quieter northern corridors, the arrival of a machine that combines convenience with sustainability reflects a broader push to make recycling genuinely easy for communities that have historically had to go out of their way to participate.
A machine that pulls its weight from day one
The strong response in Keperra mirrors what has already happened elsewhere across South East Queensland. In Logan Central, a newly installed reverse vending machine matched eight months of bag drop collections in just nine days, highlighting how quickly people embrace recycling when it is easy and accessible.
Location is everything in this scheme, and the Great Western Super Centre placement works precisely because it integrates recycling into an errand people are already doing. Community Co Recycling Managing Director Doogan O’Hanlon said the convenient positioning had been central to the strong community response.
“The RVM is located close to the shopping centre, so claiming your 10-cent refund or donating it to charity is as easy as bringing your containers along with your weekly shop,” he said.
The machine itself is the CBOX 3 by Ecoboxtec, a large-format, three-chute asset that allows up to three customers to use it simultaneously, reducing wait times and making the experience fast enough to genuinely fit into a shopping trip rather than requiring a dedicated stop.
Eleven billion reasons Queensland gets it
The Keperra machine arrives at a moment when Queensland’s relationship with container recycling has reached genuine maturity. Queensland’s Containers for Change program surpassed the 11 billion return milestone late last year, marking $1.1 billion in 10-cent refunds returned to the community across the scheme’s seven-year history.
In FY25 alone, more than 4.8 million containers were collected by 681 Queensland schools, with $4.6 million donated to charities through the scheme.
Queensland introduced Containers for Change in November 2018 alongside a statewide plastic bag ban, and expanded the scheme in November 2023 to include wine and spirits bottles, broadening the range of containers eligible for the 10-cent refund and increasing participation accordingly.
COEX Executive General Manager Lauren Christian said the Keperra project showed how local innovation and sustainability could work in tandem. “By combining homegrown technology with on-the-ground expertise, we’re expanding the network in smarter, more sustainable ways and making recycling even more accessible for communities,” she said.
Turning bottles into something more
Beyond the cash refund, the machine gives locals the option to donate their 10-cent refunds directly to charities, turning a quick recycling stop into meaningful community support.
That dual function, personal financial return or charitable contribution, is one of the features that has consistently driven engagement across Containers for Change’s Queensland network.
The Keperra Reverse Vending Machine is open daily from 7am to 9pm at the Great Western Super Centre on Wardell Street. To find other Containers for Change locations or to learn more, click here.
Published 18-May-2026
