Mudgee residents have reacted angrily on Facebook to having to wait for a Return and Earn collection point, more than 10 weeks after the scheme began.
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Residents were responding to a Mudgee Guardian story where the government declined to say when the town would get a collection facility.
A poll on the Guardian website found 91 per cent of residents who took part were annoyed Mudgee didn’t have a return point.
Asked how they felt about Mudgee still not having a reverse vending machine or over-the-counter, some said it was “ridiculous”, “bloody stupid”, and “not right” that they couldn’t claim a 10-cent rebate on containers. One person described it as “highway robbery”.
Many were frustrated Mudgee had been left out of the scheme so far.
“It’s a disgrace that we are paying extra for our plastic bottles now like everyone else but unlike everyone else we have nowhere to redeem them! That’s theft!,” Victoria Smith-Webb said.
Wendy Fuller said “How do I feel? Annoyed ... we are paying extra with no opportunity to refund.”
“It’s not right. We pay for the bottles we should get the money back,” Amanda Whiles offered.
Some residents said they have given their empty drink containers to family and friends, some had cut down their consumption, while others questioned why the scheme was started before the necessary infrastructure was installed.
“I bag mine up and take them to Sydney for the grandkids to collect the money so they can spend it here in Mudgee on their holidays. Better than nothing but is a pain, would be better if we had one here,” Judy Collier Grul said.
“We send ours to Bathurst with our daughter when she comes to visit,” Alison Hughes added.
Some including Dianne Mundey asked why the Mid-Western Regional Council hasn’t become involved and acted as a recipient or pushed the government harder.
“This should have been taken up by the Mid-Western Regional Council and collections points should have been at each of the manned council waste depots in the shire,” Ms Mundey said.
Sue Sutcliffe asked “Is Mudgee council able to push the NSW govt?”
A council spokesperson said the council was liaising with project co-ordinators to find a suitable location for a reverse vending machine in Mudgee, and was also pushing for machines in Gulgong and Rylstone.
