Digital Goa, July 31 – Soon you will have to pay an additional deposit for plastic milk packet and other packaged goods, which will be refunded to you when you deposit the packet back at a collection station. Goa will introduce a legislation in the ongoing assembly session to implement the deposit refundable system (DRS), Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral informed the house today. The Biodegradable Bill 1987 will be amended to introduce the scheme. Consumers will have to pay deposit or extra amount on all packaged goods including milk packets, chips packets, water bottles etc. “The smaller the packet, bigger the deposit,” said Cabral. The extra amount will be refunded back to the consumer once they return back the plastic. 500 to 1000 collecting stations will be set up across Goa where people can scan the code, deposit the plastic and get their refund. Commercial Tax Dept will make it mandatory for all products sold in Goa to have a bar code to facilitate the refund. “For example, if the cost of the milk is Rs 60 then Rs 10 will have to be given for the plastic bpacket, which will be refundable on return of the bag. Whoever deposits the plastic, will get the money,” Cabral elaborated. It will be made mandatory for manufacturers selling packaged goods in the state to implement the deposit refundable system (DRS). The scheme according to the minister will ensure segregation and garbage collection which is a major hurdle with garbage management as of now.
