Down in Frankston, delivery driver Amy McDermott is on a mission.
“I’m like a walking advertisement. I’m quite pushy, so I tell people, take a bag on walks,” she says. “When I’m driving around for work, if I see someone throw a can in a bin, I say, can you throw it at me?”
“I’ve created a monster. I couldn’t stop it if I tried.”
Fundraising since the start of the scheme in November 2023, Amy’s collection efforts have earned her a nickname – Bin Chicken – and over $5000.
“I don’t think I’m going to stop any time soon. I find it fun, it’s extra money. It’s surprised me how many people just throw them out,” she says.
Delivery driver Amy collects from her friends, workmates, and family, as well as keeping an eye out when she’s visiting mechanics for work. Sometimes she makes up to $70 in a week.
“We have a refund point right by my work so it’s really convenient,” she says. “I give the people at the depot lollies every time I go in, they’re working really hard. They see me a couple of times a week.”
Amy started collecting when an old boss of hers mentioned his kids were saving containers to return, back around scheme launch in November 2023. She collected so many he told her to keep the money for herself – saving a contribution for the staff Christmas party.
“At first the mechanics would stir me up and laugh at me, but a year later, I was spending $900 on a mechanical bull for my birthday, and it was all paid for with cans.”
Amy’s biggest piece of advice is to work your container collections into your daily life. Make it easy for yourself, she says. She keeps plastic tubs in the tray of her ute, which can easily be refilled and emptied as often as she needs.
It’s become a real part of her life, and that of her family’s too: “I’ve got my nieces and nephews visiting from the States and they’re collecting with me too.”
A keen paddleboarder, Amy likes knowing she’s doing something to directly support our environment. The extra money doesn’t hurt either.
