Under this scheme, customers will be refunded the deposit they pay a retailer for PET bottles or milk pouches on returning these back to the store. The state is also planning to institute a similar mechanism for tetra packs and retail packaging in three months. In a notification, the government has placed the onus of the scheme on manufacturers, terming it an “extended producer responsibility”, according to the report. The rule mandates that manufacturers will have to set up collection and recycling centres for the implementation of the scheme.
The state of Maharashtra has implemented India's first plastic buyback scheme for PET bottles and plastic milk pouches to encourage recycling. As part of the scheme, customers pay a deposit which is refunded upon the return of the PET bottles and milk pouches. A similar scheme for tetra packs and retail packaging is set to be introduced by the state in the next three months.