JOIN USThe Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team rode a BMTC bus on Sunday to promote public transport as part of its ‘Go Green’ initiative.
The day also saw the team wearing green jerseys made of plastic waste. The Go Green move aims at spreading awareness on carbon emission and environment conservation.
The BMTC provided one of its newly introduced Volvo buses which was adorned with RCB theme stickers. As the team arrived to board the bus at the Ritz Carlton hotel, BMTC driver Syed Nurullah welcomed them on board and took a selfie with captain Virat Kohli.
“Driving Kohli and (Chris) Gayle was something I had not even dreamt of. I don’t know how to describe my happiness today. I hope more and more people will use BMTC buses,” said Nurullah, who had previously driven around Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Green jersey
The RCB’s green journey, which began in 2010, reached another high on Sunday as the team played its last home match wearing green jerseys made of waste. About 11,000 plastic bottles collected from the last T20 season, that weighed around 250 kg, were used to make about 300 RCB green jerseys.
“Energy and water consumption savings of around 77% and 86%, respectively, were achieved to produce 1 kg of recycled filament yarn from the bottle waste as compared to normal yarn from virgin polyester,” the RCB said in a statement. Team member Stuart Binny said he was happy that the RCB is playing an active role in raising environmental awareness.
“The Go Green initiative holds a special place in my heart, as I myself, on many occasions, have advocated planting of trees to make our city greener. I would encourage our fans to do the same… Reduce, reuse, recycle,” he said.
The RCB also had a comprehensive waste management programme for all the home matches at Chinnaswamy stadium. It collaborated with Saahas, an NGO, to ensure that nearly 10 tonnes of waste generated in each match was managed effectively.
On the day of the green match, volunteers from the NGO, along with RCB management, organised activities to educate fans on the necessity of waste segregation.