In 2021, PepsiCo India launched ‘Tidy Trails’ in partnership with United Way, an independent not-for-profit organisation based in Delhi, to mark World Environment Day. It focused on the regions of Mathura-Vrindavan, deploying mobile vans to collect dry waste from the numerous shops across eight commercial zones, which would be responsibly disposed or repurposed into furniture, to be installed at different spots, especially tourist areas. Simultaneously, awareness drives would be conducted through public events, online workshops, and competitions in various schools and communities.
Envisioning and acting on it
The vision behind this initiative was to continue the discourse about effective sustainable management of post-consumer plastic waste. “Tidy Trails implies collectively driving change in the community by adopting responsible methods to segregate waste at source,” PepsiCo had released a statement. As part of the initiative, a mobile van will go to various shops across Mathura-Vrindavan to collect plastic waste. The collected plastic will be recycled/ repurposed into tables and chairs, which will be installed at various public places, especially tourists’ spots. Before the launch, the President of PepsiCo India, Ahmed ElSheikh had stated, “At PepsiCo India, we are striving to build a world where plastics need not become waste and initiatives such as these will go a long way in creating a sustainable ecosystem on plastic waste disposal.” In association with United Way, PepsiCo also organised ‘India Plog Run on the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in Delhi-NCR to further act on their motive to remove plastic waste from the environment.
In recent developments, Tidy Trails has been expanded to Agra in partnership with The Social Lab, supported by the Agra Nagar Nigam. This move was anticipated, considering the swift success that Tidy Trails, aligned with the Government of India’s ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ initiative, achieved in Mathura-Vrindavan. Over 500 shopping establishments across five market associations would be visited by the dedicated mobile van for waste collection. These establishments also received 500 specially branded dustbins, while 60 benches made with recycled 21 century polymer plastic were installed in Agra, to mark the launch in August this year.
Packaging sustainability
PepsiCo India is currently one of the biggest food and beverage companies in India, which is engaged in countless other sustainability and plastic management initiatives in Mumbai, Darjeeling, Nagpur, Varanasi etc. With respect to India’s Swachh Bharat initiative, PepsiCo continues to launch new campaigns and activities. By 2025, the company intends to design packaging that is 100% recyclable, compostable biodegradable alongside their cleanliness drives. The 2025 Packaging Sustainability Agenda also aims to reduce the use of virgin plastic by 35% across PepsoCo beverage portfolio, and to ensure 25% of recycled content in their packaging and advocate improved recycling infrastructure and regulatory reform.
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