Garbage has a locality. On any given street in Bengaluru, certain spots are unofficially designated as waste spaces by the public. These areas, marked by piles of trash bags, walls with peeling plaster, and litter strewn about, reflect a broader issue. With a population of 1.4 crores, according to the World Population Review, waste management issues in Bengaluru are of growing importance.
Despite awareness campaigns, the problem of littering has become worse over the years. In this scenario, community organisations take to the streets to address the problem of waste, playing a crucial role in cleaning up the city. Tackling waste management issues requires not only getting out to pick up trash but also addressing factors of culture and psychology.
Cultivating ownership and connection
One such initiative has been fostering community participation since 2010. The Ugly Indian is a volunteer-driven organisation that focuses on addressing Bengaluru’s black spots — areas on the streets that have been neglected or are piled with trash.
Aniruddha, a volunteer with The Ugly Indian, emphasises the importance of community ownership in maintaining cleanliness.
“Unless people take ownership in their neighbourhoods, whatever you do, it cannot remain clean,” Aniruddha says.
The organisation’s approach involves identifying and fixing particular areas in different neighbourhoods. First, they talk to neighbourhood folks, including sweepers, people living on the street, and nearby shop owners. Then, the group discusses how to best fix the area. They host a clean-up event where volunteers gather to tidy and fix the area.
Some criticise The Ugly Indian’s methodology, saying that spot fixes are just a band-aid solution. Aniruddha says that fostering community connection to the street is a key part of their work. After a spot is cleaned, the team ensures that it is monitored for 15 days to keep it clear, gradually erasing it as a dirty spot in the public’s consciousness.
India Rising Trust receives Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding, which supports The Ugly Indian. Corporations contribute funds, and their employees also volunteer. The Ugly Indian collaborates directly with corporations to encourage investment in the surrounding neighbourhoods. Acting as an intermediary, they familiarise themselves with the area and identify improvement opportunities.
Additionally, they seek funding to employ people to maintain the cleanliness of the spaces they have enhanced. “You keep refreshing the area until people forget that it was once used for dumping garbage,” Aniruddha says.
Part of the issue of waste management lies deeper in the gaps within the government’s system. Irregular garbage pickup, and lack of facilities or awareness for disposing of chicken waste, dead rats, and construction debris leave residents with limited options.
Transforming spaces for good
The Ugly Indian believes that connection and ownership can make a difference. By starting with a small action — such as painting or sending out a few people to clean — they connect with people who engage and respond to these acts.
“These are the kinds of acts we do first to see who is showing up in a self-selected manner. We see who responds to the action, and these are the people who will be with you for a long period,” Aniruddha said.
In this way, the dirty area is transformed into a clean space, perhaps with a bench or a pleasant view. Aniruddha often sees people in public areas fully absorbed in their phones. “Here the WiFi signal matters more than the clean air,” Aniruddha says. “People will come, sit, take out their mobile phones, and transport themselves into a virtual space.”
Over the past ten years, smartphones and other technology have become central to life in Bengaluru. Aniruddha admits that they are a great way to escape the bustle of the outside world, although he believes that public spaces are places where people should come together and interact.
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Cleaning on the run
Another initiative that has looked at clearing litter through a volunteer movement is the Indian Ploggers Army. G. Nagaraj founded the organisation in 2018. Since then, he has been known as Bengaluru’s “Plog Man.”
Plogging, a combination of jogging and picking up litter, offers a unique approach to addressing Bengaluru’s waste problem. Nagaraj’s plogging experience started as a personal initiative during a run in Cubbon Park. He picked up and packed away trash as he ran.
“Within hardly one and a half kilometres, my bag was full,” Nagaraj recalls.
In the first few years, the Ploggers Army did not gain much traction. Nagaraj said that his friends teased him about the idea, asking him to clean their house for the sake of the neighbourhood. Nagaraj raised his daughter with the same values and other kids would tease her because she would plog.
Since then, the organisation has gained more respect and members. The Indian Ploggers Army organises events where volunteers come together for plogging. It also encourages individuals to plog in their own frequented areas. Unlike traditional clean-ups, plogging is not restricted by location or time.
The Indian Ploggers Army collaborates with around 35 corporations, which often provide bags and gloves for plogging events. The Army also aims to influence the business world by advocating for sustainable practices, such as replacing plastic cutlery with metal. Additionally, the ploggers coordinate clean-ups with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), with marshals joining in on the plogs.
In areas where they plog frequently, like Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, Nagaraj says the park is noticeably cleaner.
“Once you start plogging in an area consistently, people around the vicinity realise that somebody has been working to clean there,” Nagaraj notes.
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Nagaraj, much like Aniruddha of The Ugly Indian, believes that cleaning up the streets is only one piece of the impact of volunteering groups. In addition to clearing waste, people who volunteer are likely to shift their attitudes and actions around waste and consumption among themselves and their communities.
“Whoever has joined for plogging clean-ups, has become more conscious,” Nagaraj says. “They do not litter and they think twice about buying anything in plastic.”