Tasmac's liquor bottle buyback scheme hits logistical hiccups

CHENNAI: Rolled out in 2022 in tourist pockets of the State like the Nilgiris, the liquor bottle buyback scheme enjoyed a lukewarm success. The ambitious project also had the seal of approval from the Madras High Court. However, the buyback had its own logistical dilemmas.

The project aimed to curb waste and prevent littering in the Nilgiris, as broken glass and plastic waste posed severe risks to the flora and fauna of the hill station.

Inadequate space at Tasmac outlets to store the returned bottles and lack of staff to share the new duty were among the issues that cast a shadow over the scheme.

In 2022, the Madras High Court backed the scheme and directed the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) to implement it in all districts.

In the second phase of the rollout, Tasmac took the scheme to Coimbatore and Perambalur and extended it to Kanniyakumari, Theni, Dharmapuri, Tiruvarur, and Nagapattinam.

The Tasmac records state that the project saw a success rate of over 80 per cent. This rate boosted the confidence of the officials at Tasmac to bring the scheme to the capital city as well, despite facing pushback from outlet supervisors and salesmen for various reasons.

Plan of action

A senior Tasmac official explained the plan for the scheme’s implementation in Chennai. Depending on the space and manpower, the collection of empty bottles will take place in a phased manner.

Chennai district will be trifurcated into north, south and central zones to obtain optimal results from the buyback.

“North Chennai houses about 100 Tasmac outlets with an average sales of 4,000 cases per day,” he said, adding that the city’s south and central parts also have similar sales patterns.

“Chennai region alone sells about 11,900 cases of liquor from the estimated 300 outlets spread across the city, through which over 1.14 lakh empty bottles could be procured per day from the consumers,” he said, crunching the numbers.

Further delving into the details, he explained that Tasmac had identified outlets that could store and supply empty bottles to contractors daily under the buyback scheme. He assured that measures would be taken to run the project without hiccups but did not disclose the number of outlets chosen for buyback.

Speedbumps ahead

Pointing at the dingy spaces most outlets see, D Sekar, a member of the AITUC-backed TN Tasmac Employees Association, complained, “Many outlets, particularly in Chennai, do not have enough space. Storing empty bottles will be an arduous task for salesmen, which will worsen during peak hours.”

President of the State Tasmac Workers Association AD Balusamy was worried that customers may seek different outlets to avoid the buyback.

“The Tasmac salesmen will have to paste the hologram on empty bottles even after closing the shop at 10 pm,” he said, adding that the overtime work would not be compensated.

Balusamy claimed it would also be difficult to get rented space to store the empty bottles as most building owners refuse to rent for Tasmac outlets.

Under the condition of anonymity, the supervisor of a Tasmac outlet in the city said, “We are packed throughout the day from 12 noon till 10 pm. Liquor sales are high in Chennai. It is impossible to collect the empty bottles and paste the sticker.” He pitched that the scheme could be successful only if the government outsources the buyback.

Highlighting that about 5 per cent of the customers, specifically in the cities, do not consume liquor in the bar attached to the shops, Balusamy explained, “We cannot charge them extra amount since they are taking the liquor bottles with them and the guarantee that they will come again to the shop just to hand over the empty bottle is very slim.”

He added that Chennai is not a tourist spot, and over 90 per cent of the consumers will drink at the bar and leave the bottle behind.

How the scheme works

1. Tasmac outlets, including elite outlets, will charge Rs 10 for every bottle purchased in addition to the Maximum Retail Price (MRP)

2. After collecting the empty bottle, staff at the outlets must paste a hologram sticker containing the specific number denoting the shop where the bottle was purchased, before supplying it to the contractor

3. On returning the empty bottle, the consumer will get the additional Rs 10 paid during the purchase

4. The idea behind the buyback project is to bring down the number of empty liquor bottles thrown in public places and forest areas