Tasmac, the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation, is moving to expand its bottle buy-back scheme statewide by installing reverse vending machines (RVMs) at all 4,068 retail outlets. Customers would be able to return empty liquor bottles through the automated machines and receive the Rs 10 refundable deposit digitally.

The decision follows a pilot of the machines at select Tasmac outlets in Chennai. A senior Tasmac official said nearly 80% of empty bottles sold through the trial outlets were returned through the machines, prompting the corporation to consider the expansion.

"Though there are some shortcomings, the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. Hence, we have decided to install the machines at all Tasmac outlets," the official said. In the first phase, priority will be given to certain outlets, though further details on the phased rollout were not provided.

Tasmac is now inviting bids from vendors for the supply and installation of the machines. The initiative is part of the corporation's existing bottle buy-back scheme, which currently operates through manual returns at retail counters.