Which begs the question, why did it take NSW this long to pick up the recycling scheme?

It’s been a part of life in South Australia for 40 years (yes, you read that correctly, four decades). In fact, the 10-cent refund is so widely embraced in the state, in 2006 the recycling program was declared a heritage icon by the National Trust of South Australia.

Surely that would have to be one of the only laws or pieces of legislation that’s been declared a heritage icon?

Locally, the self-serve recycling stations have become increasingly popular.

Since December, close to $800,000 has gone back in to the Tamworth community and the city is expected to hit the $1 million mark before the end of the year. The city’s reserve vending machines are all pulling big numbers – two have already cracked the 2 million mark. Gunnedah is getting on board as well, with the city recycling just over one million bottles and cans every three months. So far, its residents have pocketed more than $300,000.

Across the state, litter is down by more than a third compare to 2013 figures, and the NSW government says the Return and Earn scheme is a big factor in that reduction.

Perhaps people shouldn’t need an incentive to recycle, but we do not live in an ideal world – and even a cynic can see that the Return and Earn program is a valuable revenue stream to charities and other community organisations.

While it’s good to see such a big interest in recycling, perhaps it’s time we all took a look at how much waste we actually generate on a weekly basis.

Earlier this year, after watching ABC’s War on Waste, Tamworth sisters Jill and Katrina Telfer have led a daily challenge to save the world. In one week, they went from filling half of their red bin to barely filling a plastic bag.

These days, they can hold the amount of weekly rubbish they generate, literally and figuratively, in the palms of their hands.