Puttur: Old tyres that are usually thrown away as waste have been creatively reused to make large sculptures of a tiger in Puttur and a lion in Mulki, drawing public attention and spreading awareness about waste management.

The initiative has been carried out by Sahas Foundation, an organisation working closely with local bodies on solid waste management. As part of its awareness campaign, the organisation used discarded vehicle tyres to create the animal structures in coordination with the Puttur City Municipality and Mulki Town Panchayat.

In Puttur, the tiger sculpture has been installed within the city municipality limits, while the lion sculpture has been set up in Mulki town. The tiger has already been unveiled in Puttur, and the lion sculpture in Mulki is expected to be unveiled in the coming days.

According to officials involved in the project, unusable old tyres were collected from scrap shops and other sources within the municipal and town panchayat areas. These tyres were then assembled at selected public locations and shaped entirely into the forms of a tiger and a lion. The project received financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The aim of the project is to convey that no material should be treated as waste and that many discarded items can be reused in meaningful ways. Sahas Foundation has been working with the Puttur City Municipality for the past three years on waste reuse initiatives and also conducts awareness programmes in schools and through organisations.

The organisation focuses on educating the public about separating wet and dry waste and encouraging reuse of materials in daily life. Anant Deshbhandari, project coordinator of Sahas Foundation, said the tiger and lion sculptures made from old tyres are meant to show that every discarded item has value and can be reused effectively.