Tasmanians can now donate their 10 cent drink container refunds to mental health charity Speak Up! Stay ChatTY, which has been named Recycle Rewards’ major donation partner for the next six months.
Most drink containers made from glass, plastic, aluminium, steel or cartons are eligible for a 10 cent refund.
People can keep the refund or choose to donate it to Stay ChatTY at the refund point.
The organisation said 10 containers would raise $1 towards a car sticker and 270 containers would raise $27 for a mental health resource pack.
Refunds from 1,000 containers would raise $100 to help a team member reach a rural community to deliver a mental health education session.
Stay ChatTY founder Mitch McPherson said the partnership was an opportunity to make supporting mental health feel “simple and accessible”.
“You might return a bag of cans and bottles and donate the first 10,” he said.
“It’s ‘only’ a dollar, but collectively those small donations can help us keep mental health conversations going across Tasmania.”
“It’s a really simple way to do something positive for our environment while also doing something positive for our people.”
TOMRA Cleanaway Tasmania general manager Corey Wingard said Stay ChatTY’s work had “a profound impact on communities right throughout the state”.
Recycle Rewards, Tasmania’s container refund scheme, started in May 2025.
Since then, more than 178 million eligible containers have been returned and $459,463 has been donated to charities and community groups.
Figures also show container returns have contributed to a 50% reduction in drink container litter across Tasmania.
“Every donation helps support Stay ChatTY’s work to keep mental health conversations going across Tasmania, while returning containers helps keep valuable materials in circulation,” TasRecycle chief executive Ken Roughley said.
Previous major donation partners RSPCA Tasmania and Landcare Tasmania raised $15,643 and $7,785 respectively.
Last December, Stay ChatTY was also the charity partner of Hobart’s Taste of Summer festival, where refunds from returned cans and bottles were donated to the organisation.
