Bottles collection increased by 300% and refunds nearly quadrupled since July, as the pilot scaled to two new locations
CHENNAI, 1st September 2026— A pilot deposit-return system for glass liquor bottles, launched at TASMAC outlets in Egmore, Chennai earlier this year and since scaled to two additional locations, has recorded nearly 47,000 customer return transactions and disbursed more than ₹25 lakh in instant digital refunds as of 24 August 2026, according to recent pilot data. This demonstrates clear evidence that a QR-based return system can meaningfully shift how packaging is recovered at some of India’s highest-volume retail counters.
Under the pilot, consumers pay a deposit on QR-tagged glass bottles at the point of purchase and receive an instant digital refund upon returning the empty bottle at a dedicated in-store counter. The bottles are then collected by authorised scrap vendors under TASMAC for processing. These pilots are aimed at testing the deposit-return model before scaling it across Tamil Nadu’s wider retail network.
Pilot performance, 9 July – 24 August 2026 (cumulative)
Every headline metric has climbed sharply since the pilot’s early-July benchmark. Return transactions are up nearly 575%, digital refunds disbursed have more than quadrupled, and successful QR bottle authentications have grown over 300% to more than 2.56 lakh. The overall return rate across participating stores has climbed significantly.
Murali Rathinam, Supplier at Albert Bar, Egmore, Chennai said, “I saw the RVM at the TASMAC shop where customers brought used alcohol bottles to get their deposit back. The machine evaluates the bottle and accepts it, after which it goes directly to the collection bag. The customer gets their deposit back immediately after returning the bottle.”
The pilot is being watched as a potential model for Tamil Nadu’s broader approach to packaging recovery, particularly for high-volume retail formats where manual, staff-dependent collection has struggled elsewhere. Organisers say the coming weeks will focus on bringing every participating store closer to the pilot’s best-performing counter before any decision on wider expansion.
Updated pilot figures are expected to be released periodically as the programme continues.
