Clearing the Trash Off the Himalayas' Trekking Trails

Founded in 2012 by Jodie Underhill and Tashi Pareek, Waste Warriors Society runs door-to-door waste collection, street cleanups, and material recovery facilities in Himalayan tourist hubs including Dehradun and Dharamshala in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, as well as around Corbett National Park. The organization sorts and channels recyclables to end-recyclers, trains municipal sanitation workers, and runs school and community outreach on waste segregation in destinations that see heavy tourist footfall but had little formal waste infrastructure. Its material recovery facility in Dharamshala now processes waste from 14 municipal wards, handling 1.5 to 2 metric tons of material every day.