Filmmakers in India are fast becoming environmentally conscious. After Bhumi Pednekar adopted a no-waste and no-plastic policy on the set of Badhaai Do, the makers of Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui took measures to ensure they had a zero-waste set. “A zero-waste set leaves the least possible waste to go to landfills by reusing the generated waste to its fullest capacity, and minimising the generation of waste,” explains producer Pragya Kapoor.

She admits that the different locations in Chandigarh, combined with expansive set-ups and a large crew of 300, initially posed a challenge. “We streamlined the process and aligned the crew to this novel exercise.”

During the filming of the Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor starrer, the waste generated at the location was divided into three categories — solid, liquid, and PPE. “Once the waste was collected, it was sent for sorting where it was further divided into categories — biodegradable, recyclable, food waste, reject waste and construction waste. The excess food was distributed among the underprivileged families.”

She adds that during the start-to-finish schedule from October 26 to December 21, the set generated 16,138 kilos of waste. Of this, 95.1 per cent was recycled or composted, while 3.6 per cent of non-recyclable waste was sent for co-processing. The remaining 1.3 per cent was handed over to the Punjab municipality as reject waste.

“The biggest concern was the excessive use of water bottles and cutlery. To counter this, we had cutlery made out of compostable material. Reusable sippers replaced the water bottles, and bulk water dispensers were placed across the location to avoid the use of single-use plastic bottles.”