New EPA data shows that as of Monday 897,521 bottles or cans had been deposited at Springdale Heights with Albury’s other machine at Norris Park taking 650,086.

If the daily average of 20,515 of the past week continues Springdale Heights should pass the million milestone this weekend.

IGA supermarket owner Bob Mathews said paying out on the 10-cent refunds for the containers kept his staff busy.

“We’re getting smashed at Springdale Heights, there’s up to 20,000 cans a day going through,” he said.

“About 20 per cent of those that come in for the receipts are buying something and 80 per cent are treating it like an ATM.”

Mr Mathews believes that the returns are being bolstered by Victorians taking advantage of no identification checks and dropping in cans and bottles.

It is noteworthy that outside the Central Coast, the only regional machine more popular than Springdale Heights is at Queanbeyan, also on a NSW border.

However, the ACT, unlike Victoria, will soon have a container deposit scheme which should stem the drop-offs in Queanbeyan coming from Canberra.

At Corowa, an over-the-counter site for can and bottle collection has been established at recycling business D & M Scrap Metal.

Director Danielle O’Toole said they were checking all the driver’s licences of those with containers as they drove into the yard to make sure they were from NSW and not Victoria.

The business previously took cans for scrap metal at a rate of a $1 per kilogram.

Ms O’Toole said that meant about 75 cans equated to a $1, compared to 10 under the new deposit scheme.

Among those happy with the change in value of cans is Cindy Carter, the Corowa mother previously stockpiled containers to earn $50 annually.

She has now taken one wool bag to D & M and received $150.

“We got paid more money from one bag of whole cans than we got when we were taking in six or seven full bags,” Ms Carter said.

She also believes Corowa has less litter with containers previously dumped in gutters now being recycled.