The idea to tackle the Himalayan waste crisis emerged from a shared realization that while the mountains’ beauty was breathtaking, the growing garbage problem was heartbreaking. In 2012, Waste Warriors Society was founded by Jodie Underhill and Tashi Pareek as a registered nonprofit in Dehradun, with an ambitious mission to clean up the eco-sensitive Himalayas. Weekly cleanups at Triund, a remote but heavily littered campsite near McLeod Ganj, became a key part of its early efforts.
In 2013, Minakshi Pandey initiated Waste Warriors’ work in Corbett, further expanding its reach. Over time, the organization moved beyond cleanups to focus on systematic waste management solutions in Dharamshala, Dehradun, and the outskirts of Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Among the early volunteers was Avinash Pratap Singh, who joined in 2012 and, through his deep commitment, became CEO in 2018. During his tenure, he helped build various waste management models and guided the organization through challenges like the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. He served as CEO until December 2020, shaping the organization’s growth and direction.
Around the same time that Jodie and Tashi started their journey with Waste Warriors, Vishal was traveling from Chennai to Varanasi on a 40-hour train journey. He was awestruck by the beautiful and changing landscape across the country but was deeply impacted by the continuous, never-ending trail of littered plastics on the railway tracks.
After graduating from IIT (BHU) Varanasi with a dual degree in Materials Science and Technology, he rejected his lucrative campus placement offer to pursue his passion for solving India’s waste management crisis! Each of our 150+ Warriors has an inspiring story!
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful & committed Warriors can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
With her first hike to Triund in 2009, founder Jodie Underhill began a journey that will inspire thousands.
2009
November 2012: Waste Warriors is registered as a Society, with projects in Dehradun & Dharamshala.
2012
Waste Warriors Corbett chapter launched on Gandhi Jayanti, ready to clean the forests!
2013
Mr. Anand Mahindra donates two Bolero pickups, helping our teams till this day!
2014
‘Create to Inspire’ Educational Program sponsored by Microsoft reaches 99 Dehradun schools, training 200 teachers and engaging 8000 students!
2015
Mr. Gautam Thapar supports our Education Program, positively impacting the lives of nearly 10,000 children in Dehradun & Corbett.
2016
HDFC’s H.T. Parekh Foundation sponsors our Dharamsala Project, allowing much-needed efforts to continue in Bhagsu.
2017
• Lal Family Foundation supports our outreach work in Dehradun, leading to a proud win of India Today’s Safaigiri Award for ‘Community Mobilisers’!
2018
• Launched Uttarakhand’s 1st Material Recovery Facility for Plastic with UNDP & PCB. Developed Dehradun’s 1st Model Ward (Ward 21).
2019
• Helped 5000+ low-income workers with food relief kits in the COVID lockdown.
• Partnered with Tetra Pak India to boost Used Beverage Carton collection in Dehradun
2020
Scaling up our field operations from 3 to 7 locations across Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
2021
Awarded the SDG Goal Keeper Award for SDG 12 and Excellence in Waste Management by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
2022
An inclusive, participatory, and sustainable solution for waste management in the eco-sensitive Indian Himalayan Region.
Catalyzing systemic change for waste management solutions in the eco-sensitive Indian Himalayan Region.
Enabling better governance and access to waste management services.
Addressing policy gaps specific to the Indian Himalayan Region.
Promoting local entrepreneurship and dignified livelihoods.
Activating communities to take environmental action and co-create solutions.
Active participation of the local communities in designing, implementing, and monitoring systems is critical for the sustainability of any solution. We believe in strengthening existing community-based institutions wherever possible and creating new institutions if necessary.
Behaviour change campaigns can be successful only when reliable services can be ensured, which requires enhanced infrastructure for waste collection & processing.
When local governments are inspired, they can come up with ingenious & creative solutions. We believe that by building the capacities of local governments, we can enable effective convergence & utilization of available resources for the implementation of solid waste management systems.
Local entrepreneurship ensures the value generated from the systemic solution remains within the local communities. The local entrepreneurs are accountable to the community and need to develop a trust-based relationship with them.
We can overcome social stigma by providing a sense of identity and igniting agency among marginalized communities through the generation of dignified livelihoods.
Scaling the solution is more important than scaling the organization. We believe in developing open-source playbooks & partnerships with multiple stakeholders to scale solutions.
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We are a non-profit organisation, catalysing systemic change to solve the waste management crisis of the Indian Himalayan Region. Registered Society with 12A, 80G, & FCRA.
Proudly working towards the
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
© Waste Warriors Society, since 2012.
