Pro Planet People
From Invisible Workers To Climate Champions: 42,000 Waste Pickers Recognised Under UN Project
Once invisible, 42,000 waste pickers are now being recognised for their crucial role in climate action.
September 3, 2026
Once invisible, 42,000 waste pickers are now being recognised for their crucial role in climate action.
Ahead of Ganesh Utsav and Janmashtami, Bikaner artisans are transforming cow dung into handcrafted idols while exploring more eco-conscious festive celebrations.
IFS officer S. Deepika is transforming coal-mine landscapes across Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra through plantations and community participation.
By empowering local community forest user groups and drawing upon an ancient spiritual ethos of oneness with nature, Nepal reversed decades of severe deforestation, nearly doubling its forest cover to over 45%.
In Gujarat’s Zakariyapura, 368 livestock-owning households use biogas plants to turn cattle dung into cooking fuel and slurry into agricultural value.
For nearly a decade, Pandit Jeevraj Shrimali has combined religious awareness, waste management and community action to protect Jodhpur’s polluted ponds.
Leaving corporate careers at Flipkart, SAP, and IBM in Bengaluru, Ankur and Rashmi Sachan returned to Kanpur during the pandemic to establish Tuhi Farms, a 5.5-acre chemical-free agroforestry model growing over 30 crop varieties.
College friends Akriti Verma and Bhavya Jhunjhunwala launched SewMuchBetter in Kanpur with just ₹30,000–₹40,000 to combat fast-fashion waste, creating zero-waste handcrafted apparel worn by Madhuri Dixit.
Delhi-based environmentalist Radhika Anand joined hands with the Indian Army under “Mission Fruit Forest” to plant over 1.1 lakh fruit-bearing trees across barren military lands, transforming dry terrain into self-sustaining green corridors.
Nayana Premnath’s journey from beauty and lifestyle content to low-waste living eventually led her to build The Green Circle, an initiative focused on upcycling discarded textiles.