Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 3 Sep: Pilgrims on the Char Dham Yatra 2026 have returned over 10 lakh containers for recycling across Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri between 19 April and 26 August this year, part of an on-ground initiative that lets pilgrims deposit and return QR-tagged bottles and packaging to keep the Himalayan pilgrimage circuit free of waste, according to figures released by the yatra administration.
The initiative allows pilgrims to deposit and return QR-tagged bottles and multi-layered packaging (MLP) at designated collection points along all four Dham routes, with the aim of keeping the Himalayan pilgrimage circuit and the rivers that begin there free of packaging waste.
Dham-wise collection, 19 April – 26 August: Badrinath Dham- Containers Collected- 3,04,77, Recovery Percentage- 94%, Gangotri Dham- Containers Collected- 2,72,864, Recovery Percentage – 97%, Kedarnath Dham- Containers Collected- 2,90,273, Recovery Percentage- 90% and Yamunotri Dham- Containers Collected- 1,49,292, Recovery Percentage- 92%. Total Containers Collected- 10,17,200; Recovery Percentage- 93.25% respectively.
Badrinath accounted for the largest single share of collection at just under a third of the total, followed by Gangotri, Kedarnath and Yamunotri. With the yatra continuing through the pilgrimage season into November, officials expect the total to rise further as footfall continues across all four routes.
Prashant Arya, District Magistrate, Uttarkashi, said, “Gangotri has recorded nearly 2.73 lakh containers returned this season with a 97 percent recovery rate, among the highest across the yatra, and Yamunotri has seen over 1.49 lakh containers returned at 90 percent recovery. Given how ecologically sensitive both these sites are as the source points of the Bhagirathi and Yamuna, this level of pilgrim participation through the dDRS programme is genuinely encouraging.”
The four-month total builds on a trend of rising participation over the past four pilgrimage seasons. QR-based container collections on the Char Dham routes have grown roughly 31-fold since 2022–23. Over the same period, the number of collection points along the routes too have grown six-fold. The collection rate of distributed QR codes reached 93.25% in 2026–27.
The dDRS Implementer at the ongoing Char Dham yatra said “Every season we see more pilgrims choosing to return their bottles rather than leave them on the trail. These numbers show that a small habit, repeated by lakhs of people, adds up to a meaningfully cleaner yatra.”
The dDRS initiative operates on the Char Dham routes to manage and reduce plastic and packaging waste along the circuit.
