Festive Spirit Meets Clean Streets

New Delhi: As large-scale festive celebrations bring thousands of people together in public spaces across India, managing post-consumer waste remains an important task. This festive season, Anandana- The Coca-Cola India Foundation extended its Maidaan Saaf campaign to Navratri in Vadodara, Durga Puja in Kolkata and Mysuru Dasara, supporting responsible PET waste collection and promoting reusable alternatives through local partnerships.The initiatives focused on making responsible waste disposal more accessible to festival visitors and encouraging community participation in keeping public spaces clean.

In Vadodara, Anandana partnered with HCCB and NGO Lakshya to facilitate PET bottle collection at the Lukshmi Vilas Palace Heritage pandal during Navratri, encouraging responsible disposal among an estimated 35,000 daily visitors.A similar effort in Mysuru brought Anandana and HCCB together with Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and implementation partner Sangam Pratishthan to support collection at Chamundi Hills and the Food Mela grounds during Dasara. More than 30 volunteers and Safai Saathis manned the effort, while designated collection points provided visitors with convenient disposal options. Interactive Kannada Street plays reinforced the message, raising awareness and encouraging public participation. 

In Kolkata, the campaign addressed waste at both shopping destinations and festive gatherings. Anandana partnered with Raah Charitable Trust to distribute reusable tote bags at Gariahat and SS Hogg Market, engaging local vendors to encourage shoppers to choose alternatives to single-use bags. At the Ahiritola Sarbojanin Durgotsav pandal, a complementary collection drive encouraged visitors to dispose of used PET bottles responsibly. The PET bottles collected during the festivals were sent through authorised recycling channels, helping ensure that post-consumer packaging was recovered for recycling rather than left in public spaces after the celebrations.