THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Here is good news for tipplers. What if the empty liquor bottle that one dumps on the roadside or deserted plots provides money - Rs 5 a bottle? Before dismissing it as spurious, take this. A proposal in this regard has been mooted by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) as part of its campaign against single-use plastics. The proposal was handed over to Kerala State Beverages Corporation Ltd (Bevco) and Kerala State Co-operatives Consumers’ Federation Ltd (Consumerfed) - the two public units engaged in liquor sales in the state - last week. A response is yet to come.
“We issued a directive in this regard to Bevco and Consumerfed. The directive is based on the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 which mention the extended producer responsibility (EPR),” said an officer of SPCB.
According to the officer, EPR is a policy approach where the producers are made responsible for treating or disposing of waste after the sale of products. The responsibility may be fiscal, physical or a combination of both. “The reason why we suggested a small cash-back is that it will be only through such means that the customers can be persuaded to dispose of liquor bottles properly,” said the officer.
Liquor brands of various companies made available through Bevco and Consumerfed outlets come in glass and plastic bottles. Also, the public sector unit Travancore Sugars and Chemicals Ltd (TSCL), which produces Jawan Rum, uses plastic bottles. “Jawan Rum initially was sold in glass bottles. But at that time we could only produce 500 cases per day. But when we shifted to plastic bottles, we could produce 6,000 cases a day. If we again shift to glass bottles, it will affect our production,” said a TSCL officer.
While Bevco managing director G Sparjan Kumar said that before taking a decision on buy-back scheme for bottles it has to be verified whether the bottles fall under the category of single-use or multi-use, Consumerfed vice-chairman P M Ismail took the stance that he was ignorant of such a proposal.
To address the menace of bottle menace, Bevco, last year, had called a meeting of liquor suppliers to discuss how empty bottles can be collected and formulate a scheme under which liquor companies can take back used bottles. It then took the stance that as it was not a producer company it could not be held accountable for the disposal of an end-of-life product.