Specially abled artists lend a creative touch to MCC’s eco-friendly initiative
Mysuru: The next time you visit the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) main office on New Sayyaji Rao Road, you may notice an environment-friendly addition.
New benches, made from recycled plastic bottle caps through an industrial melting process, have been installed in the corridors of the two-storey heritage building for the convenience of visitors.
The benches have been provided under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of Bisleri Packaged Drinking Water as part of its ‘Bottles for Change’ campaign.
A total of 19 green-coloured benches have been installed at the MCC head office to promote awareness of the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Similar benches have also been placed at all nine zonal offices of the MCC.
Resembling wooden benches
Each three-seater bench requires nearly 60 kg of plastic bottle caps. Designed to resemble conventional wooden benches, they have been painted green. Their backrests have been transformed into canvases featuring colourful paintings depicting Mysuru Dasara, flowers and other themes. Adding a unique touch, the artwork has been created by specially abled artists born without hands, who painted using their feet. The name of each artist has been prominently displayed alongside the artwork, recognising their creativity and contribution.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, MCC Assistant Executive Engineer (Environment) Madhukar said the additional seating arrangements have significantly reduced the inconvenience faced by people waiting in queues to access various civic services.
Sooraj, representing Bisleri, said similar recycled plastic benches have also been installed at the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) offices in Bengaluru. He said the benches are as durable as wooden ones and even if damaged, can be recycled again through the melting process to manufacture new benches. With proper maintenance, they are expected to have a long service life.
Plastic vending machine plan shelved
The MCC has shelved its proposal to install plastic vending machines at prominent locations across the city due to shortage of funds. The initiative was intended to encourage people to dispose of used plastic bottles responsibly by offering incentives such as cash, coupons or reusable cloth bags in return.
On an experimental basis, one such machine was procured from Hubballi and tested in Mysuru. However, the proposal was later dropped owing to financial constraints, sources said.
This post was published on July 27, 2026 7:30 pm