Container Deposit Systems
Container Deposit Systems designs and manufactures proprietary AI vision-based container redemption terminals (BRT, ART, MIS, CRT) and lifecycle service support, selling and leasing them to recycling depot operators across all Australian container deposit scheme states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersThebarton, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Container Deposit Systems does
Container Deposit Systems (CDS) is an Australian-owned private company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Thebarton, South Australia, that designs, manufactures, and supports AI vision-based terminals for beverage container deposit schemes. Its product portfolio comprises the Bulk Redemption Terminal (BRT) for high-volume commercial depots, the Auto Redemption Terminal (ART) for automated redemption, the Manual Input Station (MIS) for transitioning manual depots, and the Cash Redemption Terminal (CRT) for automated refund dispensing, all integrated in real time with Australian state container deposit schemes. The underlying technology is a proprietary computer vision system that detects, counts, and classifies eligible containers without barcode reading, handling crushed, deformed, and unlabeled containers at stated accuracies of 98.9% (ART average) and 99.8% (Vickers deployment), with throughput of up to 120 containers per minute.
CDS earns revenue primarily through sale or multi-year lease of BRTs, ARTs, MISs, and CRTs to recycling depot operators, supplemented by a 7-day in-house National Support Centre covering field service, preventive maintenance, training, auditing, and remote troubleshooting, plus a Grafana-based Reporting Portal and an online training platform. Go-to-market is a direct enterprise field sales motion with state-specific managers and custom configuration for high-volume depots, alongside an enablement motion for social enterprises and community groups operating refund points. The company is founder-led by Executive Chairman Brett Duncanson and CEO David McGary, holds ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certifications, and operates across all Australian states following Tasmania's scheme launch in May 2025, processing roughly 30 million containers per week across the installed fleet.
Container Deposit Systems firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Container Deposit Systems
- Legal name
- Container Deposit Systems
- Website
- https://containerdepositsystems.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Container Deposit Systems designs and manufactures proprietary AI vision-based container redemption terminals (BRT, ART, MIS, CRT) and lifecycle service support, selling and leasing them to recycling depot operators across all Australian container deposit scheme states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Container Deposit Systems industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Recycling Equipment Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Materials Recovery Facilities (562920)
- SIC
- Computer Terminals (3575)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Reusable Packaging & Refill Systems (Returnable Transport Items, Deposit/DRS Ops) (EUAIANAE)
Keywords
Where Container Deposit Systems is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Thebarton
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices2 records
Markets served
Container Deposit Systems business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales - BRT: CDS manufactures and sells Bulk Redemption Terminals to high-volume recycling depots. The BRT is a significant capital equipment sale with customizable modules and configurations to suit facility needs. Purchase options available with customizable service packages.
- Hardware Leasing - BRT: CDS offers lease options for the Bulk Redemption Terminal with comprehensive support included. This provides depots with access to BRT technology without large upfront capital investment.
- ART, MIS, and CRT Sales/Leasing: CDS sells and leases Auto Redemption Terminals, Manual Input Stations, and Cash Redemption Terminals to recycling depots. Equipment is integrated with state-specific container deposit schemes for real-time data synchronization.
- Service and Support: CDS provides 7-day in-house service support, preventative maintenance, field service, training, auditing, and remote troubleshooting. Support is available nationwide through in-house trained technicians.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | BRT Purchase - Custom service packages |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | BRT Lease - Comprehensive support included |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Container Deposit Systems product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Container Deposit Systems designs, manufactures, sells, and leases AI vision-based container redemption terminals for beverage container deposit schemes across Australia. The product line includes the Bulk Redemption Terminal (BRT) for high-volume depots, Auto Redemption Terminal (ART) for automated facilities, Manual Input Station (MIS) for manual depots, and Cash Redemption Terminal (CRT) for refund dispensing, complemented by nationwide service support and training.
Product overview
Container Deposit Systems offers a suite of container redemption terminals and supporting services for beverage container deposit schemes across Australia. The product portfolio consists of four main terminal products: the Bulk Redemption Terminal (BRT) for high-volume commercial operations, the Auto Redemption Terminal (ART) for standard automated processing, the Manual Input Station (MIS) for smaller depots, and the Cash Redemption Terminal (CRT) for cash dispensing. All terminals leverage proprietary AI vision-based technology for barcode-independent container detection and classification. The offering is complemented by National Support Centre (7-day service support, field service, preventive maintenance, remote troubleshooting, auditing), CDS Online Training platform, and CDS Reporting Portal for data analytics using Grafana. All products are designed and manufactured in Australia with ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certifications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Bulk Redemption Terminal (BRT) An advanced counting and sorting machine for high-volume recycling depots that processes large quantities of containers using AI vision-based technology. Features dual-lane design (automated and manual), separation hopper, bin lifter, inspection table, air ejection system, and customizable modules. Capable of processing deformed containers without barcode reliance.
- Auto Redemption Terminal (ART) Automated redemption terminal that uses AI vision-based systems to identify, count, and mechanically separate eligible containers by material type. Processes up to 120 containers per minute with 98.9% counting accuracy. Accepts all eligible containers including crushed and non-labelled containers.
- Manual Input Station (MIS) Compact machine for manual count-and-sort depot facilities to securely input data from customer returns. Features commodity data separation, RFID technology for staff identification, bag drop processing, and QR code ticket generation for CRT payment.
- Cash Redemption Terminal (CRT) Secure cash dispensing terminal that provides automated payment of returns via QR ticket scanning. Works as self-serve checkout by scanning tickets from ART or MIS, with real-time scheme synchronization and options for cash, bank transfer, or donation refunds.
- National Support Centre Seven-day in-house service support offering technical troubleshooting, field service technicians, preventive maintenance, secure remote access support, auditing services, and operator training with nationwide coverage across Australia.
- CDS Online Training Online learning platform for depot managers and staff covering operation and maintenance of CDS terminals. Includes video tutorials, text modules, quizzes, and digital certificates of completion available via web and mobile devices.
Quantifiable outcome
- 98.9% counting and classification accuracy on average for ART terminals
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Container Deposit Systems
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Container Deposit Systems technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
Container Deposit Systems partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Future RecyclingcoreFuture Recycling, a waste management company with facilities across Victoria (Dandenong, Hallam, Shepparton, Pakenham, Cheltenham), partnered with CDS to integrate into Victoria's Container Deposit Scheme. CDS provides automated redemption terminals and technology to enhance container collection. Future Recycling commits to directing CDS deposits to local community initiatives and causes chosen by residents.
- Community Recycling WAcoreCommunity Recycling WA is a not-for-profit Containers For Change Refund Point operator providing fundraising opportunities for schools, sporting clubs, and community groups. They operate three depots in Mandurah, Erskine, and Rockingham with multiple mobile collection points. CDS installed Automated Redemption Terminals at all three depots in December 2022, transitioning from manual counting stations with 26 staff and 100,000 containers daily.
- Incredable (Cash for Cans)coreIncredable operates Cash for Cans at Mackay Waste Transfer Station in Queensland as a social enterprise providing secure employment for disadvantaged job seekers. CDS provided two Automated Redemption Terminals (ART), Manual Input Station (MIS), and Cash Redemption Terminal (CRT). Facility has processed nearly 20 million containers with core staffing of 5 permanent and 1 casual employees with ~$300k wage budget.
- Cairns RecyclingcoreCairns Recycling operates seven sites in Queensland providing container refund services to the local community and commercial customers. They installed CDS Bulk Redemption Terminal (BRT) at their Portsmith site, achieving improved processing efficiency and creating additional capacity for future growth. Customers prefer using the BRT over manual processing.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Container Deposit Systems competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Anritsu Infivis: Japanese manufacturer of inspection and detection systems, including x-ray and vision-based inspection used in recycling and food/beverage packaging lines. Adjacent as a vision-based inspection peer that could compete in container detection technology.
- Steinert Elektromagnetbau: German sensor sorting and magnetic separation equipment supplier for the recycling industry. Adjacent peer — provides complementary sorting technology used at MRFs and could converge with CDS's AI vision stack at high-volume depots.
- Machinex: Canadian manufacturer of recycling equipment, including MRF systems and optical sorters. Adjacent technology peer with overlap in automated sorting for beverage container and broader recycling streams.
Emerging players
- Pellenc ST: French manufacturer of sensor-based optical sorting equipment for the recycling industry. Comparable as a technology vendor applying computer vision and AI to materials sorting, relevant to CDS's AI vision roadmap for high-volume container sorting.
Direct peers
- TOMRA Collection: Global market leader in reverse vending machines (RVMs) for beverage container deposit schemes. Directly competes with CDS across ART/BRT-style terminals in Australia and worldwide, with comparable AI and vision-based sorting capabilities but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
- Envirobank: Australian container deposit scheme operator and technology provider that runs automated collection points. Overlaps with CDS on DRS infrastructure, depot operations, and redemption technology for the Australian beverage container market.
Broad incumbents
- Re.Group: Australian recycling and resource recovery company operating materials recovery facilities. Comparable as a customer and ecosystem participant in the Australian container redemption value chain, though it is a buyer/integrator of redemption technology rather than a competing terminal manufacturer.
- SUEZ Recycling and Recovery Australia: Global environmental services and resource recovery operator with Australian operations. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the recycling and circular economy services space, with overlapping capabilities in materials recovery and depot-level operations.
- Cleanaway Waste Management: Australia's largest waste management and recycling company. Operates transfer stations, MRFs, and depot infrastructure that may use redemption technology; serves as both an adjacent operator and potential large-scale customer in the CDS ecosystem.
- Visy: Major Australian recycling and packaging company with operations across paper, plastics, and metals recovery. Relevant as a downstream ecosystem participant and large-scale recycling operator that intersects with CDS's depot customer base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Container Deposit Systems social profiles
Digital presenceContainer Deposit Systems compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Container Deposit Systems financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Container Deposit Systems leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Container Deposit Systems funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Container Deposit Systems M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Container Deposit Systems
What does Container Deposit Systems do?
Container Deposit Systems designs, manufactures, sells, and leases AI vision-based container redemption terminals for beverage container deposit schemes across Australia. The product line includes the Bulk Redemption Terminal (BRT) for high-volume depots, Auto Redemption Terminal (ART) for automated facilities, Manual Input Station (MIS) for manual depots, and Cash Redemption Terminal (CRT) for refund dispensing, complemented by nationwide service support and training.
Is Container Deposit Systems a public or private company?
Container Deposit Systems is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Container Deposit Systems founded?
Container Deposit Systems was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Container Deposit Systems based?
Container Deposit Systems is headquartered in Thebarton, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Container Deposit Systems make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Hardware Sales - BRT is the primary driver. The others are hardware Leasing - BRT, ART, MIS, and CRT Sales/Leasing and service and Support.
Who are Container Deposit Systems's main competitors?
Others on record are Anritsu Infivis, Steinert Elektromagnetbau and Machinex. Pellenc ST is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are TOMRA Collection and Envirobank. Broad incumbents are Re.Group, SUEZ Recycling and Recovery Australia, Cleanaway Waste Management and Visy.
Does Container Deposit Systems have an API?
No public API is recorded for Container Deposit Systems.
What industry is Container Deposit Systems in?
Container Deposit Systems's product category is Recycling Equipment Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAIANAE, Reusable Packaging & Refill Systems (Returnable Transport Items, Deposit/DRS Ops). Its NAICS code is 562920 and its SIC code is 3575.