PepsiCo India expands its flagship program on plastic waste management, 'Tidy Trails' to Agra, Uttar Pradesh

PepsiCo India in partnership with The Social Lab (TSL), announced the expansion of Tidy Trails, an initiative focused on education and awareness around plastic circularity in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. With the support of Agra Nagar Nigam, the initiative will share best practices with shopping establishments to support plastic waste management and recycling in the city.

As part of the initiative, a dedicated mobile van has been deployed to visit local shops across Agra, collecting post-consumer plastic waste from over 500 shopping establishments across five market associations. In the first month of the pilot, over 50kgs of plastic waste were collected on average daily and sent for recycling. Over 500 specially branded dustbins were also distributed to the shopping establishments to mark the launch.

The Tidy Trails Agra chapter was e-inaugurated by Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India and flagged off by Nirmala Dixit, Member, UP Mahila Aayog in the presence of key dignitaries, Umesh Garg, Independent director, IFCI, Syed Areeb Ahmad, IPS, DSP, Agra Police, Pankaj Bhushan, Environment Engineer, Agra, Sudesh Yadav, Swacch Bharat Mission head, Agra, A.K. Shrivastava, chief marketing officer, Agra, Garima Singh, chief government affairs and communications officer, PepsiCo India, Sahil Arora, chief executive officer, The Social Lab(TSL) and Adesh Gupta, director (Advisory Board), The Social Lab (TSL).

In line with the company’s pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) commitment, PepsiCo India has launched various initiatives around plastic waste management in Uttar Pradesh to help build a world where plastic never becomes waste. Under the Tidy Trails initiative, all plastic waste collected from shops will go to waste collectors for segregation and later will be recycled and converted into useful items like benches and chairs, to be distributed across parks and offices of Agra. To commemorate the launch, PepsiCo India will also distribute 60 benches made of plastic, recycled with 21 century Polymers, for installation in Agra.

Addressing virtually, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India said, “The challenge of plastic pollution demands a collective effort, where public and private sectors work together for common good. By combining the innovation and resources of the private sector, the administrative strength of the government and public responsibility, we can forge a path towards a cleaner, greener India. We congratulate PepsiCo India and The Social Lab (TSL) for bringing an initiative like Tidy Trails to Agra, after its successful launch in Mathura, and wish them all the best.”

Commenting on the inauguration, S.P. Singh Baghel, Hon'ble Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, said, "Aligned with our vision for 'Swachh Bharat Mission', we are consistently working towards implementing best practices for waste management across the country. It’s encouraging to see organizations like PepsiCo India and The Social Lab (TSL) come forward and launch initiatives like Tidy Trails initiative in Uttar Pradesh that will help create awareness and also help in further keeping the cities clean.”

Syed Areeb Ahmad, IPS, DSP, Agra Police, said, “We appreciate PepsiCo India’s commitment to drive positive change and address the critical issue of plastic waste management in partnership with The Social Lab (TSL). We stand shoulder to shoulder with such proactive industry leaders fostering an environment that promotes best practices for plastic waste management. Keeping in mind the historical significance of Agra, we urge PepsiCo and TSL team to also support us in keeping the city clean and green.”

Commenting on the expansion, Garima Singh, chief government affairs and communications officer, PepsiCo India, said, “At PepsiCo India, we are guided by our ‘Winning with pep+’ philosophy and are consistently working to build a world where plastic never becomes waste by reducing, recycling, and reinventing. Aligned with this vision, we introduced ‘Tidy Trails’ - a special initiative to sustainably manage post-consumer plastic waste in Mathura Vrindavan in 2021. Following its success, we are excited to launch the program in Agra with the support of Agra Nagar Nigam, encouraging people to keep their local environment clean and foster ‘tidy’ness, thereby building on the remarkable milestones.”

Commenting on the partnership, Sahil Arora, chief executive officer, The Social Lab (TSL), said, “We are proud to partner with PepsiCo India and Municipal Corporation, Agra for this noble initiative. TSL is committed to environmental preservation and the promotion of circular economy initiatives like Tidy Trails. In today's world, plastic has emerged as one of the most pressing environmental challenges but if re-used and recycled, plastic has many uses that have not been explored by communities. Through Tidy Trails, we aim to unite communities, businesses, and policymakers in a collective effort to promote recycling and reuse of plastic waste.”

Tidy Trails initiative was launched in Mathura-Vrindavan in September 2021 with the vision to encourage and empower local citizens of the city to keep their environment clean and set an example to inspire all members of communities. As part of the program, 25,000 kgs of plastic was collected from 800 establishments across the city and involved 70 municipal wards. Through various awareness drives, events, nukkad-nataks and competitions, the initiative successfully reached 6.2 lakh people with focus on driving behavioral change towards responsible plastic waste management.