Kolkata’s Durga Puja Gets a Waste-Management Push Through Reusable Bags and Bottle Collection
Anandana’s Maidaan Saaf campaign has introduced reusable tote bags at Gariahat and SS Hogg Market, alongside a PET bottle collection drive at the Ahiritola Durga Puja pandal.
Kolkata’s Durga Puja brings together large crowds, busy markets and days of public celebrations. Alongside the festivities, the surge in shopping and gatherings also makes waste collection and disposal an important part of managing the city’s public spaces. KLolakata Durgha Puja brings together lrge crowds busy markets and sdays of public celbrtions . alongside the festivities, the surge in shopping and gatherings also make waste collection and disposal an important part of managing the city’s public spaces.
This year, Anandana, the Coca-Cola India Foundation, has extended its Maidaan Saaf campaign to Durga Puja through two initiatives: distributing reusable tote bags at Gariahat and SS Hogg Market, and collecting used PET bottles at the Ahiritola Sarbojanin Durgotsav pandal. This year, Anandnana
The reusable bags were distributed on October 14 and 15, during the pre-Puja shopping rush, in collaboration with Raah Charitable Trust. The initiative involved local vendors, who offered shoppers reusable alternatives at the point of purchase. According to the organisers, thousands of festive shoppers were engaged through the activity.
At Ahiritola, a PET bottle collection drive is scheduled to run from October 13 to 21. The initiative aims to encourage visitors to dispose of used plastic bottles responsibly during the festival.
The two activities address different parts of the waste-management challenge. Reusable bags offer shoppers an alternative to single-use carry bags, while the bottle collection drive focuses on gathering discarded PET packaging for recycling. Both depend, however, on what happens after the initial intervention: whether reusable bags continue to be used and whether collected bottles are properly sorted and sent for recycling.
For Raah Charitable Trust, the shopping markets presented an opportunity to reach people while they were making purchasing decisions. Debjani Singh, the organisation’s director and founder, said the partnership had helped make reusable alternatives accessible to shoppers and vendors.
Saloni Goel, Senior Director of ESG Value Creation and Commercialization at Coca-Cola India, said the campaign aimed to use the festival as an opportunity to encourage community participation and cleaner public spaces.
The Durga Puja initiative is the first time Anandana has activated its reusable tote bag programme around the festival. Similar reusable collection bags have been distributed during Tirupati Brahmotsavam and the Amarnath Yatra, according to the foundation.
Maidaan Saaf was launched in 2023 during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and has since been implemented at sporting events and cultural gatherings, including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai, Rath Yatra in Puri and Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj.
The campaign’s approach is to make waste collection and reuse more visible at events where large numbers of people gather. But the scale of its environmental contribution depends on more than participation alone. The number of bags distributed, the quantity of PET bottles collected and the proportion ultimately recycled would provide a clearer picture of the outcomes.
As Kolkata celebrates Durga Puja, the initiative puts two practical waste-management measures into the festival setting. Their longer-term value will depend on whether these measures translate into sustained changes in shopping habits and more effective collection and recycling systems.
