A 3-metre soft drink bottle is being towed across Victoria as pressure mounts on the State Government to adopt a container deposit scheme.
The Boomerang Alliance represents 47 community groups and local governments, and is exchanging money for bottles and cans to simulate what a deposit scheme would like if it came to Victoria.
The group is handing out money to people who bring in their own containers.
"We are using money from fundraising, so it's coming from our own pockets. We are calling it a mock refund container," Boomerang Alliance member Annett Finger said.
"We just want to show people what it would be like to have the scheme in Victoria."
After two weeks on the road, containers collected will be dropped off to the office of Premier Daniel Andrews.
"[It's] a message from regional Victoria that they should get on with it and implement the scheme," Ms Finger said.
Saving the world's oceans
Ms Finger is also a researcher in marine ecology, and said the influx of plastics in the world's oceans was at crisis point.
"I'm dealing with the nasty end of what happens when we don't recycle properly," she said.
"These schemes are the most effective thing any government can do to help our oceans."
Victoria and Tasmania are the only states without a scheme — or a proposed scheme — that allows people to exchange their empty bottles and cans for cash.
Evidence shows deposit schemes are benefiting the health of oceans.
A CSIRO study of the coasts of Australia and the United States showed container deposit schemes reduced the amount of containers in the sea by 40 per cent.
New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory have container deposit schemes in place, while Western Australia and Queensland have programs set to start this year and next.
Why doesn't Victoria have a container deposit scheme?
While the big players in the Australian waste industry are calling for urgent implementation of a national strategy to deal with excess stockpiles of recyclable materials caused by a change in China's import policy, Victoria's politicians are refusing to commit to a container deposit scheme.
In a written statement, the Victorian Government said it would look at a scheme, but would not commit to a project anytime soon.
"We continue to look at container deposit schemes in other jurisdictions to understand the benefits and costs of various models, and how they might work in Victoria," a Government spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Shadow Minister for Environment Nick Wakeling dodged questions about whether his party would commit to a scheme if it won the election later this year.
"New South Wales implemented a scheme in December last year and we are awaiting the outcome of how that scheme is operating," he said.
"That will help guide a future government to determine which way to head."
