Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the Kerala government pushes forward with initiatives to reduce plastic waste and promote environmental sustainability, it has decided to continue allowing liquor sales in plastic bottles.

The state has rejected demands to ban plastic liquor bottles, citing such a move could disrupt the liquor industry. The decision comes despite the government's own liquor policy promising a gradual phase-out of plastic packaging in favour of glass bottles.

According to the government, existing bans on plastic bottles only apply to the sale of drinking water and no legal restrictions are preventing the use of plastic for liquor packaging. This argument was presented in response to a petition filed in the Kerala High Court by TGN Kumar, a resident of Ernakulam, who sought a directive to ban plastic bottles in the alcohol industry.

Case in Kerala High Court 

The High Court advised the government to consult relevant stakeholders before taking a decision. Based on this, the Pollution Control Board, Kerala State Beverages Corporation (BEVCO), Distilleries, and the IMFL Suppliers Association were all consulted. After hearing their arguments, the state rejected the petitioner’s demand and issued an official order stating that it had complied with the court’s instructions.

Goes against own policy

This decision directly contradicts the state's 2022 liquor policy, which promised a phased transition to glass bottles for alcohol packaging. It also weakens an earlier proposal under which BEVCO was to collect used plastic liquor bottles and hand them over to the recycling firm Clean Kerala Company.

Why the ban was dropped: Here are government's reasons

The government cited several practical challenges for not moving away from plastic packaging in liquor sales:

  • Transitioning to glass bottles could severely affect the liquor industry.
  • Glass bottles are not readily available in Kerala and would need to be sourced from Uttar Pradesh.
  • Plastic bottles can be recycled, whereas glass recycling remains limited in scope

According to BEVCO, an average of 19 lakh cases of liquor are sold each month in Kerala. Of this, around 30 lakh plastic bottles are used monthly.