Panaji: Goa will roll out a statewide deposit refund scheme (DRS) from April 1 to curb non-biodegradable waste by incentivising the return of plastic, glass and metal packaging, officials said.
Under the scheme, consumers will pay an additional deposit of ₹2 to ₹10 over the MRP, which will be refunded when empty packets or bottles are returned at designated deposit machines, with the rollout to take place in phases across the state.
“Whenever a consumer buys any product which is packaged in non-biodegradable packaging — plastic, aluminium, glass or multi-layer plastic — and is sold in Goa after April 1, 2026, the consumer will have to pay what is called a green deposit. This deposit on most products is ₹5. On liquor bottles it is ₹10. If the product itself costs less than ₹20, then it is ₹2. When the consumer returns that packaging at certain collection centres, that consumer will get that money back,” Anthony de Sa, a retired bureaucrat who heads the state’s scheme administrative committee overseeing the rollout, said.
Products that cost less than ₹5 will be exempt from the scheme.
Work on the scheme began more than two years ago in the state. In August 2023, the Goa government amended the Goa Non-biodegradable Garbage Control Act, 1996, bringing about changes to define the roles and responsibilities of Producers, Importers and Brand Owners (PIBOs), making them legally accountable for the collection and proper disposal of the packaging materials introduced into the market.
Subsequent to the amendment, the Goa government notified the Goa DRS Rules on August 16, 2024, outlining an operational framework, roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, financial mechanisms, and compliance provisions related to the DRS. The notified categories include glass, metal, rigid plastics, flexible plastics, laminated liquid cartons (LPBs), multilayered plastics (MLPs) and others that may be included at a later date.
As part of the rollout, the Goa government has been holding meetings with manufacturers, distributors and retailers, alongside the service provider Recykal — the company chosen via a tender process to set up reverse vending machines and collection points in the state.
In its present form, the scheme mandates that manufacturers or anybody who wants to sell products in Goa must register with the scheme administrator.
“Each manufacturer has to pay this deposit to the Goa government. They will get a QR code which they have to either print or sticker on the product that is being sent to Goa. When the manufacturer sends it to Goa, the distributors will have to do the same. They will pay the manufacturer when they buy these products. When the distributor sends this to the retailer, the retailer will pay this to the distributor. And finally, when the retailer is selling this to the customer, he will collect this deposit from the customer. That is, if the product is otherwise priced at ₹100, it will now be priced at ₹105, with the extra five rupees the customer can get back once he returns the packaging,” an official from the state’s department of environment said.
“The idea is to bring about a behaviour change in the way consumers treat packaging material by assigning value to waste, including hard-to-collect waste, in a manner that ensures waste is not treated as something worthless,” the official added.
De Sa added that even garbage collectors or ragpickers who collect discarded waste can return it to deposit centres. “The person who picks it up and brings it to the collection centre — that person will get the ₹5. There will be at least 300 collection centres all over Goa. Every panchayat will have at least one. Bigger panchayats will have three to four different centres. Towns like Panjim and Margao may have even 10 collection centres. Every year, this will be increased to at least 500 collection centres within two years,” de Sa said.
Proponents said waste pickers who earlier earned ₹18–20 for 1 kg of PET bottles (around 50 bottles) could now earn up to ₹250 for the same 50 bottles under the DRS.
Recykal has previously rolled out a similar programme along the yatra routes of Uttarakhand, where products are sold at a premium with the deposit being returned to pilgrims, or anyone who returns non-biodegradable packaging to a deposit centre. The scheme is currently in force in eight districts of Uttarakhand.
In the first phase, however, Goa will implement the scheme only for liquor glass bottles — often dumped along the state’s beaches.
However, not everyone is on board. Most notably, the All Goa FMCG and Telecom Distributors Association has called for the scrapping of the scheme, calling it “anti-consumer.”
“As a customer, you have to pay the deposit over and above the MRP. Then you have to keep the packaging safe. If the QR code is mutilated or unreadable, you will lose your money. If you buy products and want to take them to friends and relatives outside the state, there is no refund because other states are not involved in this. This is only a Goa government scheme. If you misplace or throw your packaging out, you will lose your money,” Darryl Pereira, the president of the association, said.
“The government is not clear on how they will tackle online sales. Online products will go directly to customers. Who is checking whether they have got QR codes or not? As it is, online sales have affected the business of retailers. If customers start moving online because they will be saving by not having to pay this deposit, then retailers will start losing business,” he also said.
Goa currently generates around 800 tonnes of waste per day — around 50% of which is non-biodegradable — while the state has the capacity to deal with only around 450 tonnes of waste in total.
Officials of the Goa government said they are rolling out the scheme after “engaging with multiple stakeholder associations over the last two months” and have already secured the support of alcohol brands via the Excise Department ahead of the rollout of the DRS for liquor bottles on April 1.
For other categories, producers, importers and brand owners (PIBOs) have until February 28 to register under the scheme.
“This scheme has been implemented in places across the world. Nowhere has the scheme been rolled back. We are targeting a return rate of around 95–96% of all packaging material once the system gets adopted in the state,” a Recykal official said.
Curated by Dr. Elena Rodriguez
