Liquid paperboard containers, also known as poppers, are small drinks between 150ml and 750ml ranging from flavoured milk, juice drinks, coconut water, and a number of other beverages.

A classic lunchbox staple, millions of juice and milk flavoured poppers are consumed across Queensland every year, with more than 36 million poppers being recycled in 2021

However there’s still an opportunity to save many more poppers from ending up in landfill.

Currently around 100 million poppers (liquid paperboard containers between 150ml and 750ml) end up in landfill every year in Queensland.

Most poppers such as flavoured milks or juice drinks typically found in lunchboxes and school tuckshops are eligible containers through the Containers for Change scheme.  

Common poppers include Up and Go, Breaka flavoured milk and Golden Circle juice poppers etc.

Schools, community groups and individuals can also benefit from the 10 cent refund for each eligible popper – if 100 million are saved from landfill, that’s $10 million dollars in refunds up for grabs! 

Schools such as Greenslopes State School are already raising thousands of dollars for equipment and facilities through the Containers for Change scheme.
 
Principal Trevor Carr says they are expecting even more money raised through educating children that their poppers are recyclable.
 
“Even with the disruptions last year we collected more than 46,000 containers here at the school, and that money has gone straight back into the P&C for things like equipment and sustainable garden beds.”

“Our students here learn about caring for the environment as part of the curriculum and they are already recycling and even saving food waste to feed the school chickens.”

“It’s a real community effort, all the way from the students and parents, through to the cleaners and event organisers” he said.

These poppers are just some of the more than 24,000 different eligible containers, ranging from bottles, cartons and cans and more that can be recycled through the scheme.  

Containers for Change have recycled more than five billion containers across Queensland since the start of the scheme in November 2018, creating nearly 800 full time equivalent jobs.