India is today facing various environmental challenges, sustainable waste management being one of the most critical ones. Hence, the priority is to shift from the current practice of dumping and burning to sustainable waste management practices that promote segregation, collection, recycling and a circular economy.
After successful completion of the first phase of Alag Karo – Har Din Teen Bin program, the second phase of the source segregation program – Alag Karo 2.0, was launched in Gurugram earlier this week under the gracious presence of Vinay Pratap Singh, Municipal Commissioner, Gurugram.
With the support of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), Coca-Cola India along with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Tetra Pak India, have once again joined hands with SAAHAS (a not for profit organization), to extend the program reach in Gurugram as also to select locations in New Delhi.
Marking the commencement of Phase 2 of the Alag Karo program, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram and SAAHAS have signed an MoU to create awareness and implementation of source segregation of waste at Ward levels, including Ward No. 32.
While Alag Karo Phase 1 had targeted high-rise residential societies, commercial complexes and institutions, the focus of Phase 2 is directed towards other settlements like independent houses, slums, small shops and street markets in the city.
The Alag Karo 2.0 launch event, held early this week, witnessed participation from wide range of stakeholders across local authorities, RWAs, private partners and NGOs, it highlighted on the importance of citizen engagement in promotion of waste segregation & management and relentless efforts made by the MCG, in ensuring scientific management of city waste.
Building on the milestones of phase 1 of the program, Alag Karo 2.0 is an initiative to take the impact created by the program to a next stage. The main objective of Alag Karo 2.0 is to enhance the understanding and sensitivity towards sustainable waste management by promoting source segregation, and sensitising over 100,000 people in the city. The program aims at achieving improved recycling rates and reduction in dumping and landfill, through formal engagement with 300 waste workers for training on systematic waste collection and processing. Additionally, the second phase of the program will extend to New Delhi, reaching 2,000 households initially and will render support towards existing Alag Karo RWA volunteers and apartment communities of the program.
Divya Tewari, CEO, SAAHAS, said, “We’ve certainly come a long way. Alag Karo, the program which today is entering into its second stage initially kicked off at a city level, on a smaller scale, say in a single colony or a village. Today, it has branched into a systematic source segregation program with clear and transparent outcomes. Each activity undertaken as a part of the program has brought in new learnings for us and has helped us evolve a detailed step-by-step approach for implementing and sustaining Source Segregation. We are confident that much alike the first phase, Alag Karo 2.0 will also be very successful and rewarding. We appreciate the support provided from our program partners, Coca-Cola India, Tetra Pak, GIZ and the local authority – Municipal Corporation of Gurugram.”
Ishteyaque Amjad, Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia said, “At Coca-Cola India, we are driven by our vision of creating a ‘World Without Waste’- recycling every bottle or can that we sell by 2030. For this, we have a three pronged strategy- Design, Collect & Partner. We are really proud to once again liaise with our implementing partner SAAHAS to drive, create and accelerate waste collection and segregation at the source level. The amount of waste that is being generated today and its subsequent ramifications are alarming, and the onus is on each one of us to drive a behavioural change at individual level. This will help us not only contribute towards the Indian government’s Swachh Bharat Mission but also create a green, clean, healthy, safe and sustainable environment.”
Dr Ashish Chaturvedi, Director – Climate Change & Circular Economy, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH said, “Alag Karo is supported under the Development Partnership with Private Sector (DeveloPPP.de) program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with project partners GIZ, Tetra Pak, Coca-Cola and Saahas. The project aims at increasing recycling rates through source segregation of waste, proper collection and processing of waste. This will result in reduced landfills and harmful greenhouse gas. The project will also improve the working conditions of informal sector through access to segregated waste and by undertaking various trainings and capacity building measures.”
Jaideep Gokhale, Sustainability Director, Tetra Pak South Asia said, “At Tetra Pak, we have long believed in Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposition to start looking at waste as wealth. Our cartons are paper-based, recyclable and have the lowest carbon footprint among all other packaging materials used for similar food products. So, when we choose carton packaging, we are already making a positive choice. And when we segregate used cartons from our waste, we ensure that waste pickers earn an additional livelihood, and the used cartons get recycled into many useful items like benches, desks, notepads and roofing sheets. But it all begins with waste segregation at source and its recovery – which is precisely what Alag Karo aims to drive across communities. After the successful completion of Phase 1 of the program, we look forward to continuing on the journey and taking this message to more citizens.”
