You could be fined Rs 2,000 for drinking beer on a Goa beach, but thanks to an innovative green initiative, 10 beer bottle caps or 20 used cigarette butts can fetch you a beer in Goa, if you exchange them at a pop-up waste-bar. The idea is to engage beach visitors in activities that create awareness about environment and conservation, while also cleaning the beaches.

“The waste-bar is a win-win concept. It is positive for the venue as it is a positive event that attracts a crowd. You get very happy customers as they feel they contribute to the society and get a free drink for it. And for brands, it helps in positioning.”

Conceived by Drishti Marine, a private beach management agency roped in by the state tourism ministry to rein in the garbage menace on Goa’s beaches, the waste-bar is a hang out of sorts, where one can exchange segregated garbage for a drink.

The initiative kicked off on January 30, when the first of the pop-up waste-bars opened up at the Zanzibar shack, located at the beach end of the popular Tito’s Lane in the North Goan beach village of Baga.

Nearly 8 million tourists arrive every year to Goa’s beaches, and the garbage that they produce has forced the government to take the help of Dristhi Marine. And although there are rumblings between the private agency and the government, CEO Ravi Shankar is hopeful that this campaign will make Goa clean again. He said,

“We ran an extremely successful campaign over 150 days in the last tourist season with the intention of creating awareness on beach clean-up and teach people about the importance of waste segregation. We made a significantly positive impact on that front and hence have decided to run the campaign this season as well.”

Netizens who have or are planning to visit Goa, are endorsing this movement.

We hope to see some great changes in Goa, courtesy the Waste Bar.

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