For Small Island Developing States (SIDS), where plastic leakage has outsized environmental, economic, and social impacts, deposit-refund schemes (DRS) offer a practical solution: they reduce leakage, recover valuable resources, and secure long-term financing for waste management.

Seychelles is considered one of the pioneers in this field in the African region. The country’s early adoption of a national PET bottle DRS demonstrates how such systems can be designed and managed in an island context.

This case study, jointly prepared by UNDP, the Government of Seychelles and the GEF-supported ISLANDS Indian Ocean project based on government reports and interviews with experts and officials, traces Seychelles’ experience – the process behind the system’s development, the challenges encountered, and the lessons it offers for other island nations and beyond.