Everything you need to know
CoEx yesterday blamed IT issues for the delay, and the map has since been made public again.
It comes after waste lobby groups last month wrote to state Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch expressing their concerns over a shortage of refund sites.
The State Opposition yesterday accused the Government of botching the rollout of the scheme, and claimed as little as one in three sites would be open today.
Under their contract with the State Government, CoEx were required to have a minimum 232 sites ready to open across the state today as the Containers for Change scheme kicks off. CoEx last night claimed 303 sites will be fully operational today.
Sites visited by The Courier-Mailyesterday remained unfinished, with some appearing far from ready to open.
One site at Salisbury on Brisbane’s southside was still a construction site, with operators claiming it was still receiving “final finishing touches”.
Further questions have been raised after supermarkets on the Sunshine Coast claim the conditions to be an operator under the scheme had blown out in the past few days.
Opposition environment spokesman David Crisafulli said the launch of the scheme had already been delayed by three months to ensure a faultless rollout.
“It’s Queenslanders who count the cost for poor implementation,” he said.
“Everyone will now pay more for their drinks, and many have no way of being able to do the right thing by their hip pocket and the environment.”
Container Deposit System Operators Association executive officer Robert Kelman said the contracted collection point operators would do their best to make the scheme a success.
Ms Enoch said the required number of refund sites had been met.
“As more Queenslanders participate and the scheme grows, we expect more refund sites will be established across the state,” she said.
CoEx chairman Alby Taylor said the company encountered IT issues yesterday, resulting in delays to the online map.
Any delay in the rollout of the scheme would be bad news to organisations such as Aspley State School’s Parents and Community Association.
The P&C committee has been organising recycling efforts since the scheme was first announced, with over six weeks of refundable bottles now stockpiled.
“The money raised from such projects as this will go back into our community gardens for our school and back into learning with the children about composting and sustainability,” P&C vice-president Barbara Rushe said.
Principal Leann Griffith-Baker said container refunding was part of teaching children to value the planet.
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