OCS Foundation
Clean cities depend not only on cleaning systems, but also on the behaviour of the people who use their roads and public spaces.
The Swachh Bharat Awareness Campaign by OCS Foundation and Expeditions For Cause encourages citizens to take personal responsibility for the waste they generate and avoid littering on roads and in public places.
Swachh Bharat Awareness Campaign
Clean cities depend not only on cleaning systems, but also on the behaviour of the people who use their roads and public spaces.
The Swachh Bharat Awareness Campaign by OCS Foundation and Expeditions For Cause encourages citizens to take personal responsibility for the waste they generate and avoid littering on roads and in public places.
Do Not Litter.
Why This Campaign
Littering creates a problem that eventually has to be managed by someone else.
Waste thrown on roads, streets and public spaces places additional pressure on municipal cleaning and waste collection systems and affects the cleanliness of the places we all share.
If you create the waste, keep it with you until you can dispose of it properly.
The objective is to make responsible waste disposal a normal part of everyday behaviour.
Educating The Educated
The campaign was developed around an important observation.
People may already understand that littering is wrong, yet still throw wrappers, bottles, tissues and other waste on roads.
Knowledge alone therefore does not create change.
The challenge is to turn awareness into habit.
The campaign encourages citizens to reconsider a familiar behaviour and take responsibility for their own waste instead of leaving it behind for someone else to collect.
The Idea Is Simple
A person travelling in a car, walking through a market or visiting a public place may not always find a dustbin immediately.
That does not mean the waste has to be thrown on the road.
The campaign encourages people to keep a small reusable dustbin or litter bag available, particularly while travelling.
Waste can be stored temporarily and disposed of correctly when a suitable facility becomes available.
A simple practical solution helps make responsible behaviour easier.
Portable Dustbins
As part of the campaign, OCS Foundation has distributed portable reusable dustbins and litter bags for people to keep in their vehicles.
The idea is practical.
Instead of throwing waste from the car window or leaving it on the road, passengers can keep it in the portable dustbin and dispose of it later.
The portable dustbin serves two purposes.
It provides a place to keep waste.
It also acts as a visible reminder of the commitment not to litter.
Campaign So Far
2010
From One Road To Many Cities
The campaign began in Gurgaon but the issue is not limited to one city.
Littering affects roads, markets, tourist destinations, neighbourhoods and public spaces across the country.
Over time, the awareness campaign has reached more than 40 cities, taking the same simple message to different communities:
Do not throw waste on the road.
Carry it until it can be disposed of responsibly.
The location may change.
The responsibility does not.
Swachh Bharat Begins With Citizens
Government agencies and municipal systems play an essential role in cleaning cities and managing waste.
Citizens have an equally important responsibility not to create avoidable litter in the first place.
A cleaner road does not begin only with someone sweeping it.
It also begins with someone choosing not to throw waste on it.
The campaign therefore focuses on what every individual can control: personal behaviour.
The Role Of Awareness
Behavioural change often requires reminders.
Campaign activities help bring the issue back into public attention and encourage people to examine their own habits.
The message is deliberately simple so that it can be understood and practised by anyone.
Keep a litter bag or portable dustbin available when travelling.
Hold on to waste when a proper disposal point is not immediately available.
Use an appropriate dustbin or waste collection point.
Ask family members, colleagues and friends to follow the same habit.
Responsible waste disposal becomes more effective when it becomes a shared social norm.
International Craft Mela, Surajkund
The Do Not Litter campaign was also taken to the International Craft Mela at Surajkund in 2015 and 2016.
OCS Foundation, Expeditions For Cause, the Ministry of Tourism Haryana, the International Craft Mela Authority, schools and citizen volunteers came together to conduct a mass awareness programme.
The campaign encouraged visitors not to litter and invited people to take responsibility for the cleanliness of their cities.
My City My Pride
The Surajkund initiative also included the My City My Pride pledge.
The idea connected cleanliness with a sense of ownership.
A city is not simply a place maintained by authorities.
It is a shared space used every day by its citizens.
Taking pride in a city therefore also means accepting responsibility for how we treat its roads and public places.
1 lakh plus people contacted
1 lakh plus litter bags distributed
The campaign was conducted with extensive participation from volunteers and schools.
How You Can Help
Everyone can contribute to the campaign.
Carry a reusable litter bag or portable dustbin so that waste does not have to be thrown on the road.
Ask family members, friends, colleagues and fellow travellers not to litter.
Simple reminders can help responsible behaviour become normal.
Individuals can participate in awareness campaigns and help take the Do Not Litter message to more people.
Corporate organisations and their employees can participate as Expeditions For Cause volunteers in awareness activities.
Employee participation can help extend the message into workplaces, communities and public spaces.
Organisations can support the production and distribution of litter bags or portable dustbins used in awareness activities.
Campaign material may also provide an opportunity for organisations to associate their participation with the environmental message.
Individuals and organisations can contribute towards awareness expeditions conducted in different cities.
Support may help with campaign logistics, materials and volunteer activities.
Portable dustbins and campaign materials can also be supported for OCS Foundation programmes at tourism and other public locations.
For Corporate And Institutional Partners
Organisations can play an important role in extending the campaign.
The strongest participation begins when an organisation practises the message internally and then helps extend it into the wider community.
The Do Not Litter Pledge
I will not throw waste on roads or in public spaces. I will keep my waste with me until I can dispose of it responsibly.
Follow the habit while travelling.
Follow it while walking.
Follow it at public events.
Follow it in your neighbourhood.
Encourage the people around you to do the same.
Cleanliness becomes more achievable when responsible behaviour becomes automatic.
A Small Action With A Visible Result
Large campaigns can create awareness, but the final decision always happens at an individual level.
A wrapper can be kept instead of thrown.
A bottle can remain in the car until a dustbin is found.
A litter bag can become part of every journey.
A parent can teach the habit to a child.
A colleague can remind another colleague.
These actions may appear small, but repeated across thousands of people they can change the appearance and experience of public spaces.
Be Part Of The Campaign
The Swachh Bharat Awareness Campaign has reached more than 40 cities and distributed approximately 1 million litter bags and portable dustbins.
Do not wait for someone else to clean what you can avoid littering in the first place.
Carry your waste.
Dispose of it responsibly.
Encourage others to do the same.
From the field
