The scheme begins on December 1 but the price rise started a month early, on Wednesday, to help fund its introduction.

CDS is called ‘Return and Earn’ and aims to help reduce litter in NSW by 40 per cent by 2020. The Environment Protection Authority claim around 300 million containers a month will be recovered by the scheme.

Glass bottles and aluminium cans used to hold most alcohol or soft drink will be included in the scheme with each individual bottle or can of drink expected to cost an additional 15 to 20 cents.

For a carton of 24 cans or bottles, that will mean an increase of approximately $4 with consumers able to claim back 10 cents for every container they return to authorised collection points.

Bottle shops are expected to be among the worst affected by the changes. Many have been displaying signs detailing the expected price rises and explaining the rise is related to the CDS.

An independent bottleshop manager from the central west, who didn’t want to be identified, said he feared the scheme would drive customers to major retailers. He said some chains had warehouses full of stock purchased before the price rise took place that would allow them to maintain lower prices until after the smaller stores, to gain a competitive advantage.

The NSW Labor Opposition is raising questions about the NSW Container Deposit Scheme roll-out.

Shadow Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said with one month to go, there is still no information on how many collection points will be ready to provide refunds on returned containers and no map to show where the collection points are located.

“The NSW Government promised there would be over 500 collection points across NSW with 85 per cent of those up and running by December 1. But the latest information from the EPA suggests that only ‘a majority’ of collection points may be in place by the start date,” she said.

Owners of Mudgee’s bottle manufacturer Bevco, Larry and Elizabeth Etherington, have also expressed their concerns describing the roll-out as a “joke” and labeling the NSW Government’s handling of the scheme as a “pack of lies”.

They have contacted the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) outlining concerns about the impacts on small businesses and the potential to create unemployment in rural areas.

A COAG representative refereed them back to the EPA report which claims the CDS, ‘has been assessed to deliver a net benefit to the NSW economy and will have negligible impacts outside the state’.

Wine and spirits bottles will not be affected by the rises and won’t be eligible for the 10 cent rebate under the scheme. Milk, orange juice and cordial containers over one litre will also be exempt. 

There will be no price increase in neighbouring states.