<p>Trekking organisers say most popular trails within a 100-km radius of Bengaluru remain persistently littered, especially with plastic bottles. While they run regular clean-up drives, they want the government to step in, as it has at Kudremukh, Kumara Parvatha and Makalidurga. At these sites, the forest department caps footfall and checks bags for plastic. </p>.<p><em>Metrolife</em> lists groups that head out with sacks, disposable gloves and trash-grabbing tools to keep the hills free of waste.</p>.<p><strong>Skipping landfills</strong></p>.<p>Cleaning trails is standard practice on all treks organised by Indiahikes. Their motto is leave the hills better than they found them. Two weekends ago, a team of around 10 volunteers in their 30s and 40s cleared 190 kg of waste from Nijagalabetta in Tumakuru. The waste was later segregated — 11.8 per cent soft plastic (like biscuit wrappers), 2.3 per cent paper, 20 per cent hard plastic, and nearly 50 per cent fabric. They diverted 85 per cent of the waste from landfills. They send their segregated waste to organisations such as Saahas, Wasted 360, Ecocrew and Hasirudala for processing. </p>.Vocational centre holds mental health campaigns in Bengaluru.<p>Swathi Chatrapathy, chief editor at the trekking company, says trails that combine scenic viewpoints, shrines and easy access tend to draw larger crowds — and more litter. Besides Nijagalabetta, the team has found Harihara Betta (especially up to the temple), Madhugiri and Uttari Betta to be consistently affected. Among the more unusual waste items are footwear, batteries, chargers and sanitary pads. </p>.<p>Volunteers are equipped with in-house eco-bags strapped to their waists to collect waste along the way.</p>.<p>Visit indiahikes.com</p>.<p><strong>Sorry state</strong></p>.<p>Japnit Kaur Sidhu started Eco Wanderer in 2024 to explore nature while actively cleaning it. In March, the group collected 13 kg of trash from two trips to Uttari Betta. She says the problem is equally dire at sites that are under the forest department's purview. “In February, we collected about 30 kg of garbage from Siddara Betta and ran out of capacity to collect more. In January, we removed 128 kg from Hulukudi Betta, and there was still plenty left behind.” The group brings the waste back to Bengaluru and gives it to solid waste processing centres here.</p>.<p>Visit @the_eco_wanderer on Instagram.</p>.<p><strong>Recycling focus</strong></p>.<p>Plogging enthusiast G Nagaraj conducts clean-up treks every 1.5 to 2 months. The latest was held in February in Bannerghatta Hills, where around 60 volunteers collected 15-18 bags of plastic and glass bottles, and food packets. Nagaraj focuses on scouring bushes and steep sections, as “the main trail is often cleared by other groups”. The emphasis is on picking up larger items with higher recycling value, such as plastic containers and cartons, rather than smaller waste like mouth freshener sachets or fragile glass. The waste is handed over to the local municipality or panchayat.</p>.<p>He says cleaning up is more physically demanding than it looks, as it involve constant bending and lifting. To keep spirits up, he adds an element of fun through wordplay and parody rhymes on sustainability. “When kids join, you will hear me singing ‘Inky pinky ponky, always carry a hanky’ or ‘Twinkle twinkle little star, single-use bakwaas (useless) yaar’,” he shares.</p>.<p>Contact 96860 95959 (WhatsApp)</p>.<p><strong>Lack of bins</strong></p>.<p>Bangalore Mountaineering Club has been organising quarterly clean-ups on popular trails for at least nine years, says operations manager Clement Dominic. The initiative attracts people “who want to do something good for the nature”. Each drive sees around 20-25 participants, mostly aged 25-35, though it is open to anyone 10 and above. Volunteers also receive a certificate of appreciation.</p>.<p>According to Dominic, litter is a persistent problem across trails, but it is worse in particularly popular spots such as Uttari Betta. “It’s a popular sunrise viewpoint, the trek is short (about 4 km up and down), no permits are needed,” he explains. He adds that litter bins are rare on unregulated trails.: “Out of 10 destinations, maybe one or two have bins,” he observes.</p>.<p>Look up @bmcindia on Instagram.</p>.<p>New effort</p>.<p>Let’s Trek Bangalore is a WhatsApp community of around 400 members focused on responsible trekking. The group held its first clean-up drive in January at Gudibande, a popular day trek in Chikkaballapur district known for the fort at its summit. Volunteers collected 12 bags of waste, which were sorted and handed over to a local scrap dealer.</p>.<p>“Plastic waste was prevalent on this trail. We even saw monkeys drinking water from plastic water bottlers. And ninutes after we cleared a spot, a vendor threw plastic bottles there again, saying she had nowhere to dispose of waste,” recalls founder Raksha Nagaraja. They plan to organise drives every two months and will choose locations based on feedback from “individual trekkers and Google reviews”.</p>.<p>The group has a strict no-littering policy, which they outline to members at the time of joining and also reinforce before every trek. Those who don’t comply risk being barred from future treks, Raksha says.</p>.<p>They plan to organise clean-up drives every two months. Locations will be chosen based on feedback from the wider trekking community as well as Google reviews.</p>.<p>Visit @letstrekbangalore on Instagram.</p>
<p>Trekking organisers say most popular trails within a 100-km radius of Bengaluru remain persistently littered, especially with plastic bottles. While they run regular clean-up drives, they want the government to step in, as it has at Kudremukh, Kumara Parvatha and Makalidurga. At these sites, the forest department caps footfall and checks bags for plastic. </p>.<p><em>Metrolife</em> lists groups that head out with sacks, disposable gloves and trash-grabbing tools to keep the hills free of waste.</p>.<p><strong>Skipping landfills</strong></p>.<p>Cleaning trails is standard practice on all treks organised by Indiahikes. Their motto is leave the hills better than they found them. Two weekends ago, a team of around 10 volunteers in their 30s and 40s cleared 190 kg of waste from Nijagalabetta in Tumakuru. The waste was later segregated — 11.8 per cent soft plastic (like biscuit wrappers), 2.3 per cent paper, 20 per cent hard plastic, and nearly 50 per cent fabric. They diverted 85 per cent of the waste from landfills. They send their segregated waste to organisations such as Saahas, Wasted 360, Ecocrew and Hasirudala for processing. </p>.Vocational centre holds mental health campaigns in Bengaluru.<p>Swathi Chatrapathy, chief editor at the trekking company, says trails that combine scenic viewpoints, shrines and easy access tend to draw larger crowds — and more litter. Besides Nijagalabetta, the team has found Harihara Betta (especially up to the temple), Madhugiri and Uttari Betta to be consistently affected. Among the more unusual waste items are footwear, batteries, chargers and sanitary pads. </p>.<p>Volunteers are equipped with in-house eco-bags strapped to their waists to collect waste along the way.</p>.<p>Visit indiahikes.com</p>.<p><strong>Sorry state</strong></p>.<p>Japnit Kaur Sidhu started Eco Wanderer in 2024 to explore nature while actively cleaning it. In March, the group collected 13 kg of trash from two trips to Uttari Betta. She says the problem is equally dire at sites that are under the forest department's purview. “In February, we collected about 30 kg of garbage from Siddara Betta and ran out of capacity to collect more. In January, we removed 128 kg from Hulukudi Betta, and there was still plenty left behind.” The group brings the waste back to Bengaluru and gives it to solid waste processing centres here.</p>.<p>Visit @the_eco_wanderer on Instagram.</p>.<p><strong>Recycling focus</strong></p>.<p>Plogging enthusiast G Nagaraj conducts clean-up treks every 1.5 to 2 months. The latest was held in February in Bannerghatta Hills, where around 60 volunteers collected 15-18 bags of plastic and glass bottles, and food packets. Nagaraj focuses on scouring bushes and steep sections, as “the main trail is often cleared by other groups”. The emphasis is on picking up larger items with higher recycling value, such as plastic containers and cartons, rather than smaller waste like mouth freshener sachets or fragile glass. The waste is handed over to the local municipality or panchayat.</p>.<p>He says cleaning up is more physically demanding than it looks, as it involve constant bending and lifting. To keep spirits up, he adds an element of fun through wordplay and parody rhymes on sustainability. “When kids join, you will hear me singing ‘Inky pinky ponky, always carry a hanky’ or ‘Twinkle twinkle little star, single-use bakwaas (useless) yaar’,” he shares.</p>.<p>Contact 96860 95959 (WhatsApp)</p>.<p><strong>Lack of bins</strong></p>.<p>Bangalore Mountaineering Club has been organising quarterly clean-ups on popular trails for at least nine years, says operations manager Clement Dominic. The initiative attracts people “who want to do something good for the nature”. Each drive sees around 20-25 participants, mostly aged 25-35, though it is open to anyone 10 and above. Volunteers also receive a certificate of appreciation.</p>.<p>According to Dominic, litter is a persistent problem across trails, but it is worse in particularly popular spots such as Uttari Betta. “It’s a popular sunrise viewpoint, the trek is short (about 4 km up and down), no permits are needed,” he explains. He adds that litter bins are rare on unregulated trails.: “Out of 10 destinations, maybe one or two have bins,” he observes.</p>.<p>Look up @bmcindia on Instagram.</p>.<p>New effort</p>.<p>Let’s Trek Bangalore is a WhatsApp community of around 400 members focused on responsible trekking. The group held its first clean-up drive in January at Gudibande, a popular day trek in Chikkaballapur district known for the fort at its summit. Volunteers collected 12 bags of waste, which were sorted and handed over to a local scrap dealer.</p>.<p>“Plastic waste was prevalent on this trail. We even saw monkeys drinking water from plastic water bottlers. And ninutes after we cleared a spot, a vendor threw plastic bottles there again, saying she had nowhere to dispose of waste,” recalls founder Raksha Nagaraja. They plan to organise drives every two months and will choose locations based on feedback from “individual trekkers and Google reviews”.</p>.<p>The group has a strict no-littering policy, which they outline to members at the time of joining and also reinforce before every trek. Those who don’t comply risk being barred from future treks, Raksha says.</p>.<p>They plan to organise clean-up drives every two months. Locations will be chosen based on feedback from the wider trekking community as well as Google reviews.</p>.<p>Visit @letstrekbangalore on Instagram.</p>