Delhi Brothers Recycle 1 Million Kg of Waste Across 14 Indian Cities

On Delhi’s outskirts, the Ghazipur landfill rises like a man-made mountain — steaming, unstable, and impossible to ignore. In 2017, part of it collapsed, killing two people and releasing toxic fumes into the air. For most residents, it was another grim headline.

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For Vihaan and Nav Agarwal, it became a turning point. Still in school, the brothers realised that nearly 33% of Delhi’s air pollution came from burning mixed waste. 

For Vihaan, who was already battling severe asthma attacks, the truth hit hard. The air he breathed, the waste he saw piling up, and the landfill fires were deeply connected.

So, they decided to act.

Their first step was simple — segregating waste at home. They began at home, carefully separating dry waste from wet. When recyclers refused to collect small quantities, the brothers reached out to neighbours, persuading 15 families to segregate waste. What started as a household habit soon turned into a neighbourhood movement.

Two schoolboys and a simple solution

In 2018, at just 14 and 11 years old, Vihaan and Nav launched ‘OneStepGreener’, a youth-led initiative offering free door-to-door dry waste collection for homes, schools, and offices. Plastic, cardboard, metal, glass, and e-waste were sorted and sent for responsible recycling — ensuring they never reached landfills or incinerators.

However, like every startup, the early days were tough. Rejections were frequent. Resources were scarce. Their first collections were done using a borrowed truck. But persistence paid off.

Today, OneStepGreener offers free waste-pickups across 14 cities, having recycled over one million kilograms of waste — waste that would otherwise have been burned or dumped. The initiative has also helped plant more than 73,000 trees and created livelihood opportunities for hundreds of women, turning waste management into dignified work.

Their impact has not gone unnoticed. In 2021, Vihaan and Nav were awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize, recognising their contribution to environmental action and public health.

Yet, what sets the brothers apart isn’t just the scale of their numbers — it’s the simplicity of their idea. They proved that segregation at source can change an entire waste ecosystem, and that young people don’t need permission to lead.

From a single home to thousands of households, OneStepGreener is a reminder that climate action doesn’t always begin in boardrooms or policy halls. Sometimes, it begins with two teenagers, a borrowed truck, and the courage to take responsibility for what we throw away.