I recently visited the ' Spirit of Goa' festival and came across a DRS ( deposit refund scheme) machine demonstration there. Essentially the machine needs to read the digital payment QR code on the phone of the person who is depositing the plastic / glass waste for claiming a refund. This entails that only people using digital payment systems like G-pay, Phone - pe etc. can get a refund, also they need to have data services enabled on their phones. What happens if a person is using a push button phone or doesn't have internet on his device ? Will the DRS machine be useful in areas having low or non existent cellular coverage ? We already know how students studying online during Covid had to face great difficulty in signal deficient areas. Also why would anyone spend fuel and time to go to a DRS machine to claim a measly refund. I think waste collection agencies should be co-opted for this purpose and a handheld device be given to their workers so that they can collect the garbage at the doorstep and transfer the money to the consumer. This will also incentivise waste segregation at the household level. The system need to be carefully thought through and deficiencies ironed out before rollout.
