ITC Group has reached out to over 20 lakh households across 175 wards , of the total 225 wards, in Bengaluru so far with its green programmes on source segregation of waste, recovering and recycling resources from landfills and sustainable livelihoods for waste handlers.
Through Well Being out of Waste (ITC WOW), an initiative for management of solid waste through source segregation, recycling and recovering, ITC Group has conducted sustainability programmes across Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Chennai, Delhi and other major towns and districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and already reported an annual collection of over 64,000 metric tons of dry waste. The green drive in States also offered sustainable livelihoods to over 17,750 waste handlers, educated over 57 lakh school children and inspired over 2.2 crore citizens to adopt sustainable practices in waste management, claimed a company official.
Vadiraj Kulkarni, Chief Executive, Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division, ITC Ltd. said, “The initiative serves as a platform to collaborate for a greener and cleaner future.’‘
ITC WOW organised Interschool Recycling Championship (ISRC), held in 2023 in many States including Karnataka, to honour and encourage sustainability stewardship by individuals and organisations, witnessed enthusiastic participation from over 10 lakh students from 10,000 schools. This student engagement also resulted in the collection of over 6,000 metric tons of dry waste, including paper waste, from these states, according to the company.
Also, corporates, households, social entrepreneurs, students, and schools from Karnataka were honoured by the ITC Group for their outstanding contributions to sustainability, by conferring them with ITC WOW Green Awards 2023. More than 250 educational institutions, 50 social entrepreneurs, and several corporates in Bengaluru attended this event.
During the past year, nearly 1.5 lakh students actively participated in recycling initiatives in Bengaluru alone and their collaborative efforts led to the recovery and recycling of 25,000 metric tons of dry waste in 2023, the company further said.
