The Kerala State Beverages Corporation Limited (Bevco) is rolling out a new plastic bottle return scheme in a pilot project aimed at promoting responsible waste disposal. The initiative, which launched on Wednesday, is a collaboration with Clean Kerala Company and is starting with 20 Bevco outlets—10 each in Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur.
Under the new scheme, customers will be charged a refundable deposit of ₹20 for each QR-coded plastic liquor bottle. The deposit will be returned when the customer brings the empty bottle back to the same outlet with the label intact. According to Harshitha Attaluri, Managing Director of Bevco, this is a step towards sustainable retail practices. The labels, which were developed with assistance from the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT), will be applied at the time of purchase.
The returned bottles will be managed by staff from Kudumbashree, a women’s empowerment program in Kerala. They will collect the bottles, deface the labels, and place them in designated bins. Clean Kerala Company will then handle the recycling and collection process.
While the pilot program is currently limited to plastic bottles and requires customers to return the bottle to the same outlet, Bevco has plans to expand the initiative. Starting in January, the corporation aims to introduce a software upgrade that will allow customers to return bottles to any outlet in the state. The next phase of the pilot will also be introduced in Kozhikode and Vytilla.
In addition to the bottle return scheme, Bevco is making other changes to improve its retail operations. The corporation plans to introduce reusable cloth bags and is in the process of upgrading 25 of its outlets to provide better amenities and customer experience. New outlets will be required to have at least 2,500 square feet of space, restrooms, and parking.