Teen Brothers Awarded International Children’s Peace Prize for Environmental Work

In 2017, brothers Vihaan and Nav Agarwal experienced an increase in their asthma symptoms ue to worsening local environmental hazards. Finally, a disastrous environmental event spurred them to take action.

Near their home, a large landfill – dubbed "Garbage Mountain" by locals – collapsed and released toxic chemicals into the surrounding streets. The leak caused a fire to erupt, smoke engulfed the air and two people died.

Following this event, Vihaan and Nav decided to take action to improve their city’s waste collection to ultimately improve their own health and that of their neighbors. Vihaan struggled with a persistent cough and shortness of breath. He knew his symptoms would not likely improve until his local community improved its waste management solutions. 

In 2018, at ages 14 and 11, respectively, the brothers created a home recycling program called One Step Greener that managed recycling for 15 households within their community. Their goal: prevent toxic chemical waste from seeping into the environment and creating dangerous health conditions for residents. 

At first, the boys felt empowered by taking the action of separating waste into distinct categories. When local officials then informed them that the local garbage collection crew would not pick up their separated bags, they felt momentarily defeated, but persisted in their efforts.

The boys then created a neighborhood coalition to create a unified recycling program, which 15 households joined.. Local authorities adjusted their stance, and the recycling program spread throughout the community with a growing number of households starting to participate. 

'The main issue in waste management is that everybody thinks it’s not their job, or if the waste is out of their house, it’s out of their mind," Vihaan said.

Vihaan and Nav’s program, One Step Greener, grew from managing 15 households to 3,000 throughout 14 Indian cities. The program offers participating households free door-to-door dry waste pickups. The segregated waste is then delivered to warehouses where it is further divided to ensure proper recycling. Newspapers are separated from A4 printing paper, PET plastic from polypropylene, and computer screens from keyboards. 

One Step Greener's mission reads, "OneStepGreener’s mission is to transform environmental action into everyday practice by mobilizing youth, building green communities, and designing scalable solutions in waste management, afforestation, and education—starting at the grassroots, and growing toward systems change. "

The ambitious program recently reached a milestone of recycling of three million pounds of waste and planting 73,000 trees.

"It’s an old saying, but everyone’s collective effort does actually make a difference," said Vihan.

The Foundation for A Better Life and PassItOn believe that teen brothers Vihaan and Nav Agarwal are heroes. Their actions are a great example of the value of making a difference. They did not consider their young age and lack of experience a deterrent. They simply saw a problem and wanted to find a way to help fix it. Their actions continue to help prevent a widespread health crisis from breaking out within their community and beyond. 

To learn more, visit: https://www.onestepgreener.org

Watch video here: https://youtu.be/cnX9dCDuQ0M?si=ANXg5N8jtys-D6DI