Gurugram: After successful completion of the first phase of Alag Karo - Har Din Teen Bin program, the second phase of the source segregation program - Alag Karo 2.0, was launched in Gurugram earlier this week under the gracious presence of Vinay Pratap Singh, Municipal Commissioner, Gurugram. With the support of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), Coca-Cola India along with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Tetra Pak India, have once again joined hands with SAAHAS, a not for profit organization, to extend the program reach in Gurugram as also to  select locations in New Delhi.

Marking the commencement of Phase 2 of the Alag Karo program, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram and SAAHAS have signed an MoU to create awareness and implementation of source segregation of waste at Ward levels, including Ward No. 32. While Alag Karo Phase 1 had targeted high-rise residential societies, commercial complexes and institutions, the focus of Phase 2 is directed towards other settlements like independent houses, slums, small shops and street markets in the city.

The Alag Karo 2.0 launch event, held early this week, witnessed participation from wide range of stakeholders across local authorities, RWAs, private partners and NGOs, it highlighted on the importance of citizen engagement in promotion of waste segregation and management and relentless efforts made by the MCG, in ensuring scientific management of city waste.

Building on the milestones of Phase 1 of the program, Alag Karo 2.0 is an initiative to take the impact created by the program to a next stage. The main objective of Alag Karo 2.0 is to enhance the understanding and sensitivity towards sustainable waste management by promoting source segregation, and sensitising over 100,000 people in the city. The program aims at achieving improved recycling rates and reduction in dumping and landfill, through formal engagement with 300 waste workers for training on systematic waste collection and processing.

Commenting on the launch of Alag Karo 2.0, Divya Tewari, CEO, SAAHAS, said: “We have certainly come a long way. Alag Karo, the program which today is entering into its second stage initially kicked off at a city level, on a smaller scale, say in a single colony or a village. Today, it has branched into a systematic source segregation program with clear and transparent outcomes. Each activity undertaken as a part of the program has brought in new learning for us and has helped us evolve a detailed step-by-step approach for implementing and sustaining Source Segregation.”

Ishteyaque Amjad, Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, said, “At Coca-Cola India, we are driven by our vision of creating a ‘World Without Waste'- recycling every bottle or can that we sell by 2030. For this, we have a three pronged strategy- Design, Collect and Partner. We are really proud to once again liaise with our implementing partner SAAHAS to drive, create and accelerate waste collection and segregation at the source level. The amount of waste that is being generated today and its subsequent ramifications are alarming, and the onus is on each one of us to drive a behavioural change at individual level. This will help us not only contribute towards the Indian government’s Swachh Bharat Mission but also create a green, clean, healthy, safe and sustainable environment.”

Dr Ashish Chaturvedi, Director - Climate Change and Circular Economy, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, said: “Alag Karo is supported under the Development Partnership with Private Sector (DeveloPPP.de) programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with project partners GIZ, Tetra Pak, Coca-Cola and SAAHAS.” /BI/