APR Bharat’s 15-day campaign reaches 1M Indians, collects 50,000 bottles

INDIA – APR Bharat’s 15-day “Bottle Ki Recycle Yatra” campaign along the Kanwar Yatra pilgrimage route has collected more than 50,000 PET bottles and reached nearly 1 million Indians, as the association works to raise awareness that used PET bottles can be recycled and turned into new bottles.

The campaign, conducted along the Kanwar Yatra route connected to an annual Hindu pilgrimage, demonstrated the potential of targeted, on-ground awareness initiatives to encourage responsible disposal and channel used PET bottles towards recycling, according to APR Bharat. 

While India has one of the highest recycling rates in the world, with an estimated 90 percent of used PET bottles recovered and recycled, more than 90 percent of Indians are unaware that used PET bottles can be recycled and turned into new bottles.

Bridging the Awareness Gap and Encouraging Behavioral Change

A specially designed van travelled across active pedestrian zones engaging with pilgrims and the wider public on the importance of responsible disposal, with personnel also collecting used PET bottles generated during the pilgrimage. 

Goutham Jain, Director General of APR Bharat, stated that the overwhelming response demonstrates that when the message of recycling reaches people directly, it can translate into meaningful behavioral action. 

He added that reaching nearly 1 million people and bringing more than 50,000 PET bottles into the formal recycling ecosystem in just 15 days gives the association confidence to take the initiative to a much larger national platform moving forward.

Regulatory Context and the Role of Recycling in National Resource Security

The initiative occurs as the Indian government emphasizes a push to boost domestic production of more than 200 petrochemical items, with APR Bharat stating that a transition to recycled-content PET is crucial to ensure national resource security, reduce import dependence and ensure a more resilient domestic packaging supply chain. 

India’s government has mandated the use of 40 percent recycled inputs in plastic packaging by the 2026-2027 fiscal year, but implementation at the ground level remains limited and falls short of the intended transition toward a closed-loop manufacturing ecosystem. 

At a time when global polymer supply chains are experiencing volatility and India is simultaneously building significant domestic recycling capacity, recycling has a much larger role to play than simply managing waste. 

It can help create a more circular, resource-efficient and resilient manufacturing ecosystem for India, with every bottle that is responsibly disposed of and recycled representing a resource that can be recovered and reused. 

APR Bharat plans to scale the campaign nationally after the successful pilot along the Kanwar Yatra route.

Subscribe to our email newsletters that provide busy executives like you with the latest news insights and trends from Africa and the World. SUBSCRIBE HERE