Realising Our Vision of a World Without Waste, One Clean-up Drive at a Time

Sunny beaches hold a lot of allure for tourists and citizens alike. The sparkling water at Bandstand, Mumbai is a great example of this, drawing many onlookers on the daily. But unfortunately, since the location is a people magnet, it tends to be overrun with improperly discarded waste. This waste makes its way into the sea and creates a nuisance, not only affecting the water quality and hygienic environment but also disrupting the lives of its aquatic animals. As a result, the otherwise sparkling sea is well on its way to turning into a sea of plastic. 

The accumulation of pollutants in the Arabian Sea is sadly, an ever-increasing and pressing problem. One step towards solving the issue would be to tackle the situation from the coastline itself. By ensuring waste-free coastlines, we can stop the waste from getting into the sea and in turn, have a clean environment and positive effect on the surrounding flora and fauna. 

In line with our vision of a World Without Waste, a team of around 80 of our employees spent World Environment Day clearing up the beautiful coastline of Aamchi Mumbai! This drive was part of a Project Mumbai initiative, the aim of which was to collect the waste from the shoreline, ensuring it doesn’t reach the water body and is discarded in the correct way. By the end of the day, our team, led by Sunil Pissay (Zonal Vice President) had collected 1000 kg of waste. 

The Clean Kabini Initiative

At the same time, our colleagues in Karnataka volunteered at the Clean Kabini initiative by the Namma Mysore foundation, to clean up a 25 km stretch along the banks of the Kabini river. The Kabini river is one of the major tributaries of the Cauvery River, which is the main source of water for lakhs of people in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The group cleared up more than 2500 kg of waste which was then sent off to be properly discarded and recycled. 

The river is quite a scenic location, with its lush greenery and majestic presence of the elephant herds that inhabit the surrounding areas. Doing our bit at preserving the sanctity and environmental cleanliness of this location on World Environment Day is sure to be a feat that our employees will remember with fondness.

A Circular Economy

 HCCB’s waste management initiatives are based on the principle of creating a circular economy for plastics. While collecting waste is one step of the process, reimagining how we dispose of or recycle that waste is the focal point for us. We have recently installed a reverse vending machine at the Koyambedu flower market in Chennai where people can deposit plastic waste, such as empty bottles, and get rewarded through QR codes. The machine instantly flakes the plastic waste getting it ready for recycling. This gives people the incentive as well as the opportunity to maintain a clean, hygienic environment free of plastic waste. 

HCCB has always fostered a close connect with the community to preserve environment by sustainablity initiatives. Through volunteering for local initiatives like this, we are growing this connect even further. Through cleanliness drives like these, we hope to instil a sense of civic duty in the larger population and help India in becoming a cleaner nation.