Saahas collected over 1.6 tonnes of waste from the 10k Marathon this year by carefully planning waste collection points and using staff and volunteers to direct runners to dispose of waste properly. The majority of the waste collected was plastic bottles, carton boxes, and food waste. While litter was still observed, one volunteer noted an improvement in people using bins compared to previous years. However, some felt the large amount of single-use plastic bottles created waste that could be reduced by providing cups at water stations instead of bottles.

1. WASTE RACE
Saahas collected over 1.6 tonnes of waste at the 10k Marathon this year.
The Recipe:
Plan carefully–
Chalk out the run route and the water stations where runners would be picking up their water bottle
before drinking and dumping. Place bins, field staff and volunteers in the appropriate spots to ensure
proper waste disposal and collection. Buy Nehru caps for the 50 field staff and make large pirate hats for
the 8 volunteers plus Saahas folks. On all the head gear write a message ‘Look for a bin to drop waste
in’. Then make sure the volunteers direct and coordinate the field staff.
We’re not quite done yet. Last and the most important is getting the volunteers along with Saahas folk
to pick the waste off the ground themselves setting an example for all.
This final touch contributes to the delectable aroma to waft and cling onto the passersby, getting at
least a few to come and mess their hands at stirring the pot. For those who are shy, it sure does get
them to make a mental note of the recipe to try it later on!
Result:
Waste Type Qty (Kgs)
PET bottles 700 Qty (Kgs)
Carton boxes 538
Colour paper 145 PET bottles
Food waste 88 Carton boxes
Colour paper
Rejects 88
145 700 Food waste
Other Plastics 63 Rejects
Tetra Pak cartons 4 Other Plastics
538 Tetra Pak cartons
Aluminum foil 3
Aluminum foil
White paper 2 White paper
Total 1631

2. Thoughts:
Some of us, who hadn’t been there in the previous years, commented “So much waste is littered
everywhere!” But Wilma having been there every year for the last 3 years felt there’s a lot of
improvement in people’s attitude. “Many more people used the bin this year and there was much less
littering”, she says. Hurrah! Bengaluru! Way to go!
But still if one is present at the event and sees so many tiny PET bottles manufactured for just a day,
being thoughtlessly grabbed from a table, a couple of sips of water consumed and then just tossed by
the side of the track and everywhere around the stadium, it’s hard not to think – What an awful waste
of plastic, clean water and paper! Certainly we could do better!?
“Absolutely”, agrees Rohit Sudarshan, an avid runner, who tries not to miss any marathon across the
nation. Even though he’s a runner who one would imagine would just want a bottle at the quickest and
run off says, “Why can’t we just stop to drink from a cup at the water station and put the waste into the
bin, instead of the bottles flying at us while we are running”? He was noticed by both the people
manning a water station at the recent 10K as he approached closer and indicated that he wanted water,
and both simultaneously threw a bottle at him. He managed to dodge one but was hit by the other. He
said that the runners had been asked to make sure not to litter on the track but that they should throw
the bottle on the side of the track. Certainly they needed to be told not to litter but to use a bin instead!