The flags that fans wave enthusiastically to cheer their favourite IPL team on are being fashioned into bags that are in turn bringing cheer to many vegetable and fruit vendors in Madiwala market.
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After each IPL match at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, volunteers collect the flags that have been discarded and hand it over to an organisation that re-purposes them into bags. The bags are double-ply and can easily hold up to 5 kg weight. So far, nearly 2,000 bags have been stitched and distributed for free to vendors in the market.
Venkatraman Iyer from Swabhiman, an organisation that encourages women from the slums to stitch cloth bags, said it costs around ₹10 to stitch each bag. Two flags are used to stitch a bag to ensure it is usable and durable.
“Currently, Swabhiman has around 40 women from Rajendranagar slum, opposite the National Games Village, stitching cloth bags. Of these, 10 are stitching the bags from flags,” he said, and added that the women also stitch grow bags and carry bags from discarded flex material.
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The bags are being sponsored by Chirag Arora, a resident of Koramangala and employee of a private firm. “I was initially approached by the Koramangala Residents’ Welfare Association, who wanted me to look for sponsors. I liked the idea proposed and decided to sponsor the initiative in my personal capacity,” he said.
He also said that at the end of each match, fans often just discard the flags near their seats or outside the stadium or dump it along with wet waste. “Since some are mixed with food waste, we cannot use them, while some are so crumpled that we have to iron the cloth first before stitching them into bags,” he said.
Mr. Arora said almost all of the bags have been distributed to the vendors for free. “We are asking the vendors to use these bags, instead of plastic. This objective is to create awareness among both citizens and vendors about not using plastic bags,” he added.
N.S. Ramakanth, waste management expert, told The Hindu that he had suggested to the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) that manages Chinnaswamy Stadium to place bins where the fans could drop off the flags after each match. These flags could then be reused for the next match.
However, the KSCA management was not too sold on the idea. “Fortunately, this time, the flags have no plastic sticks. The sticks are made of paper or cardboard, which are removed before the bags are stitched,” he said.
With the Royal Challengers Bangalore currently on a winning streak, experts are expecting to receive more flags that can be re-purposed into bags.