Clean City Campaign (C3):

The indifference to our city’s well being needs to be addressed. People across the spectrum of age, educational and economic status are known to litter our streets even while they enjoy conveniences of use and throw products like cups, Tetra Pak cartons and other plastic packaging.

Saahas supported by the BBMP and KSPCB, in association with Solid Waste Management Round Table and Thomson Reuters conducted a study on littering, to determine if Bengalureans are ready to do what it takes to not litter the streets and also to bring about some motivation and discipline to hold on to our waste (paper cups, packaging etc.) until we find an appropriate bin to drop the waste in.

We do believe that over a period of time, this discipline can support proper waste collection and recycling in Bengaluru.

The survey

The study was conducted in 3 areas, in the vicinity of Thosmson Reuters offices.

1. Church Street2. Old Airport Road3. Old Madras Road

Two separate set of questions related to littering habits were asked to: a) the general public and b) shop managers/ food vendors.

A total of 92 Thompson Reuters volunteers were grouped into teams which then spread around to cover the allocated area. On each street one set of people asked questions to the general public and the other to shops / food vendors. On Old Madras Road the survey was done mostly in the RMZ Infinity techpark; covering a few small shops / vendors just outside.

In addition to data collected physically in this manner – Saahas also spread the general public questionnaire through the internet by posting it onto our facebook page and sharing with contacts.

THE RESULTS IN BRIEF – General Public

We asked: Do you often throw waste onto the street or in a drain?71% of respondents said No

When we asked - Imagine a situation where you have a paper cup in your hand. There is no immediate bin for disposal. What would you do?

66% said they would hold on to waste until they found a bin.

Again we asked- If a family member ends up throwing the packet onto the road from a car would you stop the car and see that the packet is picked up?

28% said they would actually try to retrieve the waste so as to avoid littering

Saahas comments

It does appear that while Bengalureans would like to contribute to a clean city by not littering, they are not quite ready to go that extra mile and live that complete commitment.

Convenience at most times takes precedence over Commitment. There is therefore some distance to cover before we can become a litter free society.