About Rahdhu
Rahdhu is the Dhivehi word for Return. Rahdhu is a pilot project that was funded by UNDP’s Smart City Initiative. The pilot was designed to validate the implementation of a Deposit Refund Scheme (DRS) as part of Extended Producer Responsibility to tackle the issue of litter as well as plastic and waste pollution.
The project ran it’s pilot project in Hulhumale’, where through the scheme it was able to collect back over 8,400 Bottles out of 10,000 bottles that it introduced into the market.
The project now is planning to pilot similar deposit refund schemes in 4 islands as part of a World Bank Funded Project that it is jointly executing with MACCS and Parley.
Selected Islands for Pilot
Dh. Rinbudhoo
Deposit Refund Scheme
MVR 1.00 Deposit refunded when bottles that are part of the pilot are returned.
Deposit Funded by Project.
Rinbudhoo Focal Point
Name: Nawaz
Contact Number: 7762329
Th. Vilufushi
Deposit Refund Scheme
MVR 1.00 Deposit refunded when bottles that are part of the pilot are returned.
Deposit Funded by Businesses.
Vilufushi Focal Point
Name: Inthi
Contact Number: 9758801
N. Manadhoo
Deposit Refund Scheme
MVR 1.00 Deposit refunded when bottles that are part of the pilot are returned.
Deposit Funded by Project.
Manadhoo Focal Point
Name: Mohamaed Khalid
Contact Number: 9190170
F.Feeali
Control Island
No Deposits or Refunds are Provided. But Bottles with stickers are available on the island. Return rate of bottles will be compared with other 3 islands.
Feeali Focal Point
Name: Shareef / Fazeen
Contact Number: 7797998 / 9631483
How does it work?
Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles of 500ml and 1500ml would have a sticker placed on it that indicates that the bottle is part of the pilot and eligible for a refund. The bottles with the sticker when returned to the designated collection point on the island during the collection period would be eligible for a refund of MVR 1.00 per bottle.
Dh. Rinbudhoo
Th. Vilufushi
N. Manadhoo
Pilot Islands
A refund of MVR 1.00 is provided. These islands will gauge the effectiveness of a financial incentive to return empty bottles.
F. Feeali
Control Island
No Refunds provided. This island will be a baseline to assess the return rate of bottles without any incentives.
Collection Points
Dh. Rinbudhoo
Collection Point
Rinbudhoo Councl Office
Sun to Thurs 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Rinbudhoo Focal Point
Name: Nawaz
Contact Number: 7762329
Th. Vilufushi
Collection Point
Dores
Any Day 10:00 AM to 8:00PM
Vilufushi Focal Point
Name: Inthi
Contact Number: 9758801
N. Manadhoo
Collection Point
Gondi Cafe
Any Day 7:00 AM to 11:59PM
Manadhoo Focal Point
Name: Mohamed Khalid
Contact Number: 9190170
F.Feeali
Collection Point
Villajio Hotel
Any Day 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Feeali Focal Point
Name: Shareef / Fazeen
Contact Number: 7797998 / 9631483
Project History
Rahdhu was initially created as part of a project that was formulated for Waste Management Corporation (WAMCO) under UNDP’s Smart Cities Urban Innovation Challenge. The project saw the pilot of a Deposit Refund Scheme (DRS) (also known as a Container Deposit Scheme) implemented in Hulhumale’. During the pilot phase of just over 1 week the project was able to collect back over 8,400 bottles out of the 10,000 bottles that was put out into the market as a pilot. Through the pilot we were able to replicate a return rate that is similar to countries with advanced collection systems and waste management infrastructure. This hints towards the potential viability for an national Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework backed deposit refund scheme to be successful if implemented properly in the Maldives.
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