Bisleri's Bottles for Change initiative aims to curb plastic pollution in collaboration with Greater Chennai Municipal Corporation (GCMC)

 Bisleri, industry leader and India's most trusted brand of bottled water, has collaborated with Greater Chennai Municipal corporation (GCMC) to implement the Bottles for Change program across the city. Through this initiative, Bisleri aims to educate citizens about the importance of recycling and segregation of clean plastic after use.

On 26 July 2021, GCMC's Deputy Commissioner (Health), Dr. Manish Narnaware, handed over the permission letter to Mr. Santosh Darne, Corporate Social Responsibility Head, Bisleri, to implement the Bottles for Change Program in the corporation's geographical areas.

Bisleri and GCMC will work together to spread awareness in housing societies, schools and colleges, corporates, and all other stakeholders who are end-users of plastic. To ensure structured implementation and transparency of this program Bottles for Change mobile app will be used. Bisleri has also partnered with Paperman Foundation to implement this program effectively in GCMC's geography.

Ms. Anjana Ghosh, Director Marketing and OSR, Bisleri International, said, "People hate plastic because they are not aware about the feats of recycling. It's a widespread understanding that plastic adds to environmental pollution. But, every piece of plastic is recyclable several times. All we need to do is change our habits and stop treating plastic as waste; citizens shall use plastic, clean it, segregate it separately and send it for recycling. These are steps that Bottles for Change Program talks about and are extremely simple to follow."

Dr. Manish Narnaware, Deputy Commissioner (Health), GCMC, said that "Bottles for Change Program's Concept is really good and practical in today's time. We all have to clean and segregate plastic immediately after its use and directly send it for recycling. These are very simple steps citizens have to follow for ensuring no plastic reaches the landfills. Citizens shall come forward and participate in this program for the betterment of our city."

Plastic is thought by many to be a threat to the environment. However, if used and disposed off responsibly, plastic is not harmful to the environment. For this, is it important not to think of plastic as waste. If every individual cleans the plastic, segregates it from wet waste after its use and send it for recycling, then India can manage plastic waste in better ways. Cleaning plastic is a major step in this entire process as the remains of ingredients in plastic can create barrier for the recycling process once it arrives at the recycling centre. If plastic gets managed, India has an opportunity to recycle 100% of its plastic produced and save our environment for future generations.

This program that is a part of Bisleri's Bottles for Change initiative has been previously implemented in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and now Chennai. Through Bottles for Change, Bisleri has already reached to 6 lakhs plus citizens and has sent more than 6500 tonnes of plastic for recycling.