BENGALURU: As the city laces up for the 12th edition of the TCS World 10k marathon this Sunday, the race’s promoters Procam International, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and social enterprise Hasiru Dala Innovations are busy working on measures to ensure the marathon is greener and more sustainable this year. This year, the organisers will introduce some initiatives to ensure efficient waste management and oversee last mile disposal and consequent recycling plans.
No marathon is complete without medals and this time, winners will be handed out medals in cloth pouches instead of the usual plastic ones. “For the first time, medals will be given to Majja (non-competitive) runners too and these medals are recycled from the leftover medals stocked over the years from previous events. The leftover medals amounting to 550 kg and were melted. The molten metal was used to make the Majja run medals,” said Claudius Saldanha, head, Supply Chain Management, Procam.
Usually, the bibs runner on in a marathon are plastic covered but on Sunday, participants will be given paper bibs only. Other measures to cut single-use plastic include food and refreshments being given out in reusable cloth bags and plastic trash bags being replaced with HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) reusable bags instead. Participants will also be asked to bring their own water bottles, which can be refilled at water stations in the refreshments area. For those without a bottle, water will be given in
100 per cent recyclable paper cups without a plastic lining.
According to Marwan Abubakar, co-founder, Hasiru Dala Innovation, the event is anticipating more than 25,000 participants. “About 300 workers will be deployed along the route and venue for effective waste segregation,” he added. Besides wet and dry bins to segregate waste, excess food after the event will be distributed to NGOs.
“All bio-waste collected will be processed at a bio-gas facility. Any non-recyclable waste will be sent for co-processing as per SWM rules, no waste will reach the landfill,” added Abubakar.
TCS will deploy 100 buses in the city on the day of the race to pick up the participants from various points across the city to take them to Kanteerva Stadium.