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Pollution check: Deposit Refund Scheme likely to be implemented in Goa from April
Pollution check: Deposit Refund Scheme likely to be implemented in Goa from April
Panaji, The Goa government is planning to implement the ambitious Deposit Refund Scheme , which aims to reduce the increasing plastic pollution in the coastal state, an official said on Thursday.
The DRS seeks to provide a refundable deposit for individual waste items brought back to an authorised collection point.
The scheme is likely to be implemented from April 1 by installing various collection centres across Goa, a senior official from the state environment department told PTI.
Goa produces about 766 tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, adding up to nearly 2.8 lakh tonnes a year. The urban collection has reached near-universal coverage, but weaknesses persist in treatment and recycling, he said.
"Within this gap operate informal collectors, recovering recyclables from homes, streets and dumping sites, often in unsafe conditions, and selling them at prices that barely reflect the labour involved," the official said.
For the informal collectors, at present, PET bottles fetch between ₹15 and ₹25 per kilogram or 50 bottles, which typically translates to less than 50 paise per bottle.
Glass bottles earn roughly ₹2 per bottle, while multi-layered plastic packaging, commonly used for snacks and biscuits, has virtually no resale value and is often left uncollected, he said.
The official pointed out that the national estimates suggest such packaging accounts for 30 to 40 per cent of plastic waste, much of which ends up in landfills.
Dr Anthony de Sa, chairperson of the committee heading the implementation of the Goa DRS project, under the aegis of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, said the scheme was designed to correct a long-standing imbalance.
"DRS rewards responsible behaviour towards waste management, creates better income opportunities for the informal sector and addresses peculiar waste management challenges in a tourism-driven region like Goa," he said.
Goa's Deposit Refund Scheme, notified in 2024 by the Department of Environment and Climate Change, seeks to change this structure by attaching a refundable deposit to individual waste items and returning that deposit directly to whoever brings the item back to an authorised collection point.
The standard refundable deposit is ₹5 per package, while alcohol sold in glass bottles carries a ₹10 deposit. Items priced between ₹5 and 20 attract a ₹2 deposit. Refunds are processed instantly, the official said.
De Sa said that under this model, informal collectors stand to earn up to ₹250 for 50 PET bottles, more than tenfold the current earnings. Glass bottles could fetch ₹10 per unit, a fivefold increase.
"For the first time, multi-layered plastic packets could generate income, with collectors earning ₹200 for every 100 packets returned," he added.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
