With cloth bags to be made available at outlets, is BEVCO rethinking its plastic bottle return scheme amid backlash?

Kannur: The Kerala State Beverages Corporation is reconsidering its pilot scheme to charge extra for liquor sold in plastic bottles after facing widespread opposition.

Launched on September 10 in 20 outlets across Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur, the scheme added ₹20 to the price of liquor sold in plastic bottles, refundable upon return. Officials said the goal was to reduce plastic waste, but customers objected as the charge was applied uniformly across brands and quantities, without adequate facilities in place.

Speculation that the project could be scrapped grew after the BEVCO ordered a halt to printing stickers for the bottles. Officials, however, said the move was only because of sufficient stock. At the same time, the practice of wrapping liquor bottles in paper will end this month, with cloth bags priced at ₹15 and ₹20 to be sold instead.

The additional charge has sparked disputes between customers and shop employees, with workers reporting lower sales in pilot outlets. Some customers have shifted to Consumerfed stores, where sales have risen. Shop managers and employee unions have demanded that the scheme be suspended until better infrastructure is provided, citing problems with on-site bottle returns and increased public drinking near outlets.

Extra staff were hired at ₹1,130 to handle bottle collection, but in many cases the work lasted only a day or two, with Kudumbashree workers also withdrawing.

Beverages Corporation chairperson and managing director Harshita Attaluri told 'Mathrubhumi' that the scheme would continue despite the challenges and is expected to expand statewide by January. She added that regional and warehouse managers have been directed to stop wrapping bottles in newspapers starting October 1.