Big sporting events usually end with more than just winning and losing teams and fans with emotions running high; they also often leave a solid waste management challenge as the aftermath.
The ‘Plastic Waste Clean Bowled’ project, initiated by the International Institute of Waste Management (IIWM) and supported by the European Union (EU), aims to bring together cricket fans in Bengaluru and football fans in Freiburg, Germany, for the greater goal of conserving the environment by promoting resource efficiency in waste management.
Bineesha P. of IIWM and Dieter Mutz of the EU addressed a group of enthusiastic Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans at Cubbon Park on Saturday, on the sidelines of the Indian Premier League match, seeking their support in this effort. The collaboration aims to spread the message of waste management strategies devised under the project. The RCB fan army has a social media following of over 57,000 followers, and so their support has been instrumental, said Mr. Mutz.
The project has been implemented during the last seven IPL matches played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Several measures for waste management have been tried and tested to narrow down what works and what doesn’t. For instance, they have introduced pouches into which spectators can put their waste instead of littering the stadium.
The larger goal, she said, is to analyse the current strategies and create a model to be implemented in other scenarios as well.
