Officials in Puri, Odisha, in India, recently partnered with Coca-Cola to help reduce plastic litter in the region during one of its busiest times of year.
According to Content Media Solution, the municipality joined forces with Anandana (aka the Coca-Cola India Foundation), Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, the Odisha Development Management Program, and the Y4D Foundation to roll out the initiative "Used PET Bottle-Free Puri Rath Yatra 2025."
The Rath Yatra of Puri, also known as the Chariot Festival, is one of the region's biggest events and kicked off in late June this year. The festival involves participants pulling three chariots along a three-kilometer procession from the Jagannath Temple to the Gundicha Temple, where they reside for a week before returning. The event draws thousands from around India and the world.
It can also bring massive amounts of waste and litter, with plastic pollution — and especially PET bottles — chief among these. PET bottles, or bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate, can take up to 500 years to break down in the environment, according to the National Institutes of Health. And the bottles can be a major source of plastic and microplastic pollution, which can contaminate water sources, food supplies, and fragile ecosystems.
This year, close to two hundred volunteers worked to collect plastic bottles and raise awareness at the festival. Two hundred collection bins were also deployed in high-traffic areas, and educators at 10 booths informed visitors about safe plastic disposal.
"Coca-Cola India is humbled to support the city of Puri by enabling used-PET bottle collection across public areas," Devyani R L Rana, a vice president at Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, said of the initiative. "Along with our partners, every element of this initiative has been designed in alignment with the city's needs and built on the principle of collective action."
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The effort comes at a time when Coca-Cola remains under fire for being identified as the world's largest source of branded plastic pollution in a 2024 study. While the company still has a lot of work to do in addressing its total environmental footprint — and while ultimately caps on and shifts away from new plastic production may prove most impactful — this initiative represents an important step in reducing plastic litter around the world. It may also be a strong example of the criticality of working directly with communities to help meet local needs in the process.
Designing the initiative to coincide with the festival was key. Rana noted its connection to the company's broader campaign focused on plastic waste collection and recycling "at large-scale sports and cultural events across India."
"Integrating the Maidaan Saaf campaign into this initiative demonstrates how innovative recycling solutions can be deployed to encourage visitors to adopt eco-friendly practices," Rana said.
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