We're closer than ever to a common-sense recycling scheme in NSW that would address the millions of bottles and cans littered across the state every year.

The NSW Government is now weighing two possible recycling programs. One plan was proposed by 34 environmental groups and has the backing of 90 percent of NSW consumers. The other is backed by big beverage interests like Coca-Cola.

Guess which one is better for the environment and our economy?

NSW Premier Mike Baird promised us a "world's best" deposit scheme. We need to make sure that's what we get -- not a corporate "compromise" that puts Coke's interests first. But we don't have much time.

Sign the petition to tell NSW Premier Mike Baird that we want a recycling program that works for us, not Coke.

The program in question, refund CDS, is a simple "cash for cans" scheme that has proved effective in South Australia, where recycling rates are the highest in the country. The plan is simple: buy a beverage, return the container, and get a 10 cent refund.

But Coke is pushing hard to derail the passage of a cash for cans program, all to save a few pennies from its bottom line. While Refund CDS would target 80 percent of all recyclable cans and bottles, Coke's plan targets a measly 3 percent.

The decision should be clear. But when corporate lobbying is in the mix, it never is.

From the very beginning, the SumOfUs community has fought to rein in corporate lobbying. We've campaigned to keep big polluters out of climate talks. We're fighting the TPP -- the dangerous trade deal that reads like a corporate wishlist. And we've had wins. In the US, we made sure the internet stayed open and free by counter-balancing the well-funded lobby of big telecom companies.

That's why we're working with our friends at the Boomerang Alliance to raise our voices and make sure that Baird lives up to his promise to deliver a "best in the world" deposit scheme.

But we can't do it without you. They think no one is watching, that this is a mere technical decision they can push under the radar. Let's prove them wrong, and together we can fight back against Coca Cola's blatant self-interest.

Call on Mike Baird to stand against Coke's industry measly alternative, and instead adopt the cash for cans program we need.

More information:

NSW container deposit scheme open for public comment, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 December 2015
Coca-Cola cloud over recycling lobby bid, The Age, Sept. 27th, 2013