Charity concert will not only support hundreds of orphans, but also generate power and feed the hungry in Mumbai by recycling waste
Bhavya Bishnoi from Global Citizen India
Who knew that just going for a concert would be life-changing for so many?
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Yes, Mumbai fans can finally feast their ears and eyes on the popular British band Coldplay, but that’s not what we’re talking about. Apart from improving life for hundreds of orphans across the country, the much-anticipated Global Citizen Festival will also generate thousands of kilowatts of green power and feed hundreds of hungry people in the city, just by recycling waste. And, with as many as 80,000 people expected to throng the charity concert here on November 19, there will be tonnes of waste.
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin at a concert in London in June. Pic/Getty Images
Waste not, want not
The brains behind the Global Citizen (India) initiative have a number of post-programme initiatives in place to tackle the massive amount of waste expected to be left at the end of the six-hour fest. All waste at the festival venue will be segregated into different trash bins, depending on whether it’s plastic, organic, or food waste. All of the recyclable waste will be passed on to RaddiConnect, the city’s first recycling-based fundraising platform that works with raddi collectors from all over Mumbai.
Underprivileged kids enjoy a meal courtesy of the Robin Hood Army. File pics
More power to them
“The wet waste will be handed over to the Organic Recycling System, which will in turn convert the waste into biogas used to generate electricity for offices located in BKC,” said Bhavya Bishnoi, spokesperson, Global Citizen India. According to him, each tonne of waste that is converted into biogas can raise anywhere between 150-200 kilowatts of electricity. “We are estimating 5.5 tonnes of waste from the festival to be put to good use, either as compost for nurseries, or to generate electricity.”
A clean-up drive at the beach by the volunteers
‘No one goes hungry’
All the food that remains untouched but is left over after the festival, will be collected by the Robin Hood Army, a city-based volunteer organisation that works to collect surplus food from restaurants and other sources and redistribute it among the needy. Volunteers will collect the festival’s surplus and distribute it among underprivileged the very next day (Sunday).
Vishaka Acharya, spokesperson for the Robin Hood Army, said, “20 volunteers will be coming to collect all the leftover food, while 70 other volunteers will distribute it among the needy in 16 different areas across the city on Sunday. No matter what scale of leftover food one has, it can always be put to good use by ensuring that no one goes to sleep hungry.”
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