Goa’s Deposit Refund Scheme Promises Fairer Returns, Dignity for the State’s Informal Waste Collectors

~ DRS enables formal registration of collectors, improving traceability and dignity of labour.

~ The new system aims to shift waste economics by putting money directly into the hands of those who collect it.

Panaji, January 2026 – As Goa’s waste burden continues to rise, a new state government-led deposit refund system is set to rework how value is extracted from discarded material. The shift is expected to have its sharpest impact on informal waste collectors, who have sustained the state’s recycling economy for decades while receiving only a fraction of the returns it generates. Goa produces about 766 tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, adding up to nearly 2.8 lakh tonnes a year. Urban collection has reached near-universal coverage, but weaknesses persist in treatment and recycling. Within this gap operate informal collectors, recovering recyclables from homes, streets and dumping sites, often in unsafe conditions, and selling them at prices that barely reflect the labour involved.

At present, PET bottles fetch between ₹15 and ₹25 per kilogram or 50 bottles, which typically translates to less than 50paise/ bottle. Glass bottles earn roughly ₹2 per bottle, while multi-layered plastic packaging, commonly used for snacks and biscuits, has virtually no resale value and is often left uncollected. National estimates suggest such packaging accounts for 30 to 40 per cent of plastic waste, much of which ends up in landfills. India’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework was intended to address this imbalance by shifting the cost of waste recovery to producers. In practice, however, EPR credits are largely traded between companies and recyclers, with little money reaching the people who actually collect the waste.

Dr Anthony de Sa, chairperson of the Committee heading the implementation of the Goa DRS project, under the aegis of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, said the scheme was designed to correct a long-standing imbalance. “DRS rewards responsible behaviour towards waste management, creates better income opportunities for the informal sector and addresses peculiar waste management challenges in a tourism driven region like Goa, “ he said. Goa’s Deposit Refund System, notified in 2024 by the Department of Environment and Climate Change, seeks to change this structure by attaching a refundable deposit to individual waste items and returning that deposit directly to whoever brings the item back to an authorised collection point.

The standard refundable deposit is ₹5 per package, while alcohol sold in glass bottles carries a ₹10 deposit. Items priced between ₹5 and ₹20 attract a ₹2 deposit. Refunds are processed instantly. Under this model, informal collectors stand to earn up to ₹250 for 50 PET bottles, more than ten fold the current earnings. Glass bottles could fetch ₹10 per unit, a fivefold increase. For the first time, multi-layered plastic packets could generate income, with collectors earning ₹200 for every 100 packets returned