Over 2 lakh paper bags to be given free to vendors at Basavanagudi Kadlekai Parishe for a plastic-free fair

BENGALURU: Over 2 lakh paper bags are all set to be distributed free of cost to vendors at Kadlekai Parishe (groundnut fair) to be held from November 17 to 22 at Basavanagudi. The initiative is led by Zero Waste Collective, a group of like-minded citizens, NGOs and Resident Welfare Associations. Members of the collective said they wanted to do curb the unabated use of single-use plastics at the fair, which attracts lakhs of people every year. While Greater Bengaluru Authority and other organisations were doing their bit to curb plastic use, there was no cumulative effort and that gave birth to the Zero Waste Collective in 2023. We made 50,000 paper bags in 2023 and distributed them to vendors at Basavanagudi Kadlekai Parishe. With the help of GBA marshals, we seized over 600kg of plastic bags. As more support poured in, we scaled up our sustainability initiative in 2024, and distributed 1.5 lakh paper bags and seized over 260kg of plastics, said waste activist Plog Raja (Nagaraj), a member of the collective. Members of the collective said this year, with more than 15 NGOs and 30 educational institutions extending support to the paper bag initiative, they have made 2.5 lakh bags. We have 2.5 lakh bags, of which 50,000 were distributed to vendors at Malleswaram Kadlekai Parishe. The remaining 2 lakh would be given free to vendors at Basavanagudi Parishe, Raja said. While we are glad that many organisations and citizens are coming forward, our broader goal is to have Plastic Mukta Parishe (Plastic Free Fair), for which we need more citizens to embrace BYOC (Bring Your Own Cutlery), vendors being more sensitive and shifting the focus from paper bags to cloth bags. Together we can work towards a litter-free Bengaluru, not just for the Parishe, but across gatherings, Raja said. Dhruv Nagarajan Koundinya, a core member of Zero Waste Collective coordinating with educational institutions to get students to make the paper bags, said the response is excellent. When we go to schools and colleges, students are not just being taught how to make paper bags without any glue or stapler, but are given lessons on sustainability and why is it important to carry our own cloth bags wherever we go. Parishege banni kai cheela tanni (Come to the fair, bring your own bag) is our slogan, Dhruv said. There will be a group of volunteers actively going around the fair, distributing paper bags to the vendors, he added.