Managing post-consumer waste continues to be a crucial task as large-scale festival celebrations bring thousands of people together in public locations throughout India. This holiday season, Anandana: the Coca-Cola India Foundation expanded its Maidaan Saaf campaign to Navratri in Vadodara, Durga Puja in Kolkata, and Mysuru Dasara with the help of local partners. The campaign supports responsible PET trash collection and promotes reusable alternatives.

The programs aimed to increase festival attendees’ access to proper waste disposal and promote community involvement in maintaining clean public areas.

The effort tackled waste at both retail centers and celebratory events in Kolkata. In order to encourage customers to use reusable tote bags over single-use ones, Anandana collaborated with Raah Charitable Trust to give reusable tote bags at Gariahat and SS Hogg Market.

Visitors were encouraged to properly dispose of discarded PET bottles at the Ahiritola Sarbojanin Durgotsav pandal through a complimentary collection effort.

In order to guarantee that post-consumer packaging was retrieved for recycling rather than being left in public areas following the festivities, the PET bottles gathered throughout the festivals were delivered through approved recycling channels.

In order to encourage responsible disposal among the approximately 35,000 daily visitors to the Lukshmi Vilas Palace Heritage pandal in Vadodara during Navratri, Anandana collaborated with HCCB and NGO Lakshya.

Anandana and HCCB collaborated with Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and implementation partner Sangam Pratishthan in a similar endeavor in Mysuru to facilitate collection at Chamundi Hills and the Food Mela grounds during Dasara. The endeavor was staffed by around thirty volunteers and Safai Saathis, and visitors had easy disposal alternatives at designated collection stations. The message was reaffirmed through interactive Kannada street plays, which increased awareness and promoted public involvement.

These programs expand on Anandana’s broader endeavors to promote ethical plastic trash collection, sorting, and recycling via Maidaan Saaf. The campaign began during the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and has since expanded to important sporting and cultural events, such as the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai, Rath Yatra in Puri, and Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj. Additionally, reusable collection bags were given out during the Amarnath Yatra and Tirupati Brahmotsavam.

Through these initiatives, Anandana—the Coca-Cola India Foundation—continues to promote more conscientious handling of post-consumer packaging at significant public events in India.

Priyanka Dutta