Recycling bottles, cans and cartons at the Victorian Container Deposit Scheme's Wangaratta depot has delivered Trevor McKibbin a $10,000 payday.

The Buffalo River dad is one of five lucky Victorians pocketing the hefty prize through the CDS's recent ‘Win a Million Cents’ competition.

Running from 4 May to 14 June, anyone recycling their drink containers through the scheme was eligible, and Trevor put himself in the mix by recycling containers at the Wangaratta CDS Vic depot in Newman Street.

He was was so excited when he received the call about his $10,000 win that his wife Jo had to tell him to sit down.

Being self-employed, the fourth-generation farmer said the windfall was especially welcome after Jo recently retired due to health concerns.

Trevor said he drops off containers every fortnight when visiting his mother in Wangaratta and had collected thousands of dollars in refunds through the scheme.

“My record was almost $300 in one go,” he said, praising the depot team for their customer service.

“The workers are really good there.

"I know a few of them by name – Riley and Nathan are great blokes.

“I joked that if I won the competition, I’d buy them a slab of beer.

"I’ll have to ask them what they drink!”

Trevor said he had fond memories of collecting and recycling cans as a child during the Alcoa Cash-a-Can campaign in the 1990s and was quick to embrace CDS Vic when it launched in 2023.

“It’s good fun,” he said.

Other “million cent” prizewinners returned containers in Geelong, Bendigo, and outer-Melbourne suburbs Mulgrave and Springvale.

Matt Davis, CEO of scheme coordinator VicReturn, said almost 44,000 competition entries were received from Victorians returning eligible drink containers across the state.

He said participants' efforts had kept millions of containers out of landfill, ensuring they are being properly recycled into new products.

To date, more than 3.3 billion containers have been returned through CDS Vic, putting more than $330 million back into the pockets of Victorians.

In the Rural City of Wangaratta more than 30.8 million containers have been returned to date, putting over $3.8 million back into pockets.

Visit cdsvic.org.au to find your nearest refund point.