The Goa legal Assembly on Wednesday passed a change to the Goa Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act, 1996, to allow producers of single or recyclable plastic to “collect a deposit on the sale of items that are sold in plastic packaging which is to be refunded if the buyer returns the packaging”.
“We will have a lot of counters all over Goa where people can return the bottle packaging and receive money. If someone buys (something in) a PET bottle of Rs.10, he will be charged Rs.10 extra. In that way we intend to curb this menace under the non-biodegradable act,” state environment minister Nilesh Cabral said.
“This amendment has been sought to ensure proper collection and disposal of Goa Non- Biodegradable Garbage in the state of Goa,” he included.
According to the changed Bill, manufacturers, importers and brand name owners will need to gather non-biodegradable trash and deposit them in public receptacles or locations attended to short-term deposit or collection of the non-biodegradable trash or to the firm selected for the function.
Cabral said that earlier efforts to check single-use plastic through a restriction on single-use plastic and enforce fines and charges had actually stopped working which triggered the federal government to think about ingenious actions to fix the concern.
“This is something new that we have decided to do under the Non-Biodegradable Waste Management Act. For the first time in the country, we will have a DRS scheme – a deposit refundable scheme where all the time — our EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) model has failed. So this Bill is brought for depositing money and this deposit will be taken when the product is bought,” Cabral included.
The Goa federal government had actually previously prohibited the manufacture, import and sale of single-use plastics and enforced fines of differing quantities for those who breach the act. However, the restriction has actually had little result.
