TOMRA

Founded in 1972, TOMRA is the inventor and world leader in reverse vending systems.    In the wake of the devastating bushfires of 2019-20 that destroyed over 12 million hectares of bushland and forests, TOMRA partnered with WWF-Australia to launch a nationwide recycling appeal called “Cans for Koalas” to give Australians the unique opportunity to donate their empty drink bottles and cans to help provide ongoing care and recovery to wildlife. Over 1.7 million bottles and cans were recycled and donated through the Cans for Koalas appeal. That's the equivalent of 2,054 wheelie bins of waste that otherwise might have ended up in landfill. All proceeds were donated to WWF’s Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund.   The devastating bushfires of 2019-20 impacted more than 3 billion animals - among them more than 6,000 koalas in NSW alone - pushing our beloved koalas to the brink of extinction. But WWF-Australia is on a mission to turn this tragedy around and double the number of koalas across eastern Australia by 2050. Recyclers in NSW can continue to support WWF-Australia and donate their 10c container refund by simply selecting the ‘Help double koalas by 2050’ campaign on the myTOMRA app when returning eligible drink containers. Each 10c donation from a returned can or bottle will help build a state of the art wildlife hospital and improve wildlife response capabilities, as well as restore critical landscapes and homes of koalas. 

1. Download the myTOMRA app on Google Play or App Store.
2. Press “Charities.” Set WWF-Australia’s ‘Help double koalas by 2050’ campaign as your preferred payout method. 
3. Scan your app barcode at your local Return and Earn machine, return your drink containers and press "transfer" when finished. 100% of the refunds will be transferred to WWF-Australia

Recyclers in NSW can donate their eligible containers at one of the 320 TOMRA Return and Earn machines across the state. Visit returnandearn.org.au to find your nearest return point. 

Every year, TOMRA machines accept, recognise and collect over 40 billion empty drink containers worldwide and in return give a 10c reward for each one. It’s part of a continuous recycling process TOMRA call Clean Loop Recycling that ensures fewer resources are used, less energy is wasted and containers have the best chance of being turned back into containers again – time after time.

Due to the scale of the disaster, the road to Regenerate Australia after the bushfires is long. Your donation will help us build a state of the art wildlife hospital and improve wildlife response capabilities, as well as restore critical landscapes and homes of koalas.   TOMRA’s reverse vending machines may be found all over Australia and are an important part of the state governments’ container deposit schemes in New South Wales - NSW Government’s Return and Earn scheme, in Queensland, and in the Northern Territory.    Container deposit schemes are a key criteria of WWF-Australia’s 2019 Plastics Scorecard, which assesses each state’s plans to phase out the top 10 single-use plastics that are polluting nature. The WWF-TOMRA partnership creates a win-win scenario for nature conservation, by encouraging further take-up of container deposit schemes which reduce plastic pollution, and helping impacted species and habitats recover from the bushfires with each donation.