Jodie Underhill is the co-founder of

Waste Warriors Waste Warriors is a non-governmental organisation which undertakes waste collection, waste management consultancy, event waste management, and other related projects in Dehradun, Dharamshala, Corbett National Park, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and other ...

, a

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

(NGO) headquartered in

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

, India, that specialises in waste collection and waste management. Her work has led the Indian media to give her the nicknames 'Garbage Girl' and 'Waste Warrior'. She is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

, and her work in India has brought her recognition in various forms such as the 'Brand Icon Award' by ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' and the 'Green Hero Award' b
Center of Media Studies

Background

Born in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

, England, Jodie completed her schooling from

Oakbank School, Keighley Beckfoot Oakbank is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Keighley, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated near ''Ingrow Lane'' on ''Oakworth Road'' (B6143) in the west of Keighley. History Grammar school Oakbank was founded from ...

, England. She worked as a fundraising assistant and volunteer coordinator for charities such as Rossendale Hospice, a receptionist, a personal assistant and a legal editor after which she spent the majority of her twenties travelling the world and came to India in December 2008 as a tourist. After visiting

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and

Kanyakumari Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...

, in 2009 she reached the

Tibetan Children's Village Tibetan Children's Villages or TCV is an integrated community in exile for the care and education of orphans, destitutes and refugee children from Tibet. It is a registered, nonprofit charitable organization with its main facility based at Dh ...

in McLeod Ganj,

Dharamsala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

, where she had volunteered to conduct letter-writing workshops for sponsorship secretaries. She was upset that Dharamsala's beauty was being marred by big mounds of garbage and decided to do something about this, which eventually led her to organising cleaning drives.

Projects

Mountain Cleaners

Jodie Underhill established Mountain Cleaners in 2009 to provide and promote sustainable waste management systems in Dharamsala and Dehradun. The organisation works with local people and businesses, schools, government organisations, NGOs and schools to provide sustainable waste management solutions, ensuring that rubbish is disposed of correctly and as much of it as possible is reused or recycled. She resigned from Mountain Cleaners in August 2012.

Waste Warriors

was registered in September 2012 with Jodie Underhill as a co-founder. The organisation is now supported by Executive Managing Committee and has done extensive work in the area of waste collection, waste management and waste consultancy. Waste Warriors’ has also conducted various educational programs on the environment in over 90 schools funded by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

. The

Mahindra Group Mahindra Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai. The group has operations in over 100 countries, with a presence in aerospace, agribusiness, aftermarket automotive components, construction equipment, defenc ...

is a significant benefactor of Waste Warriors and has shown support by donating vehicles and sponsoring the entire Corbett project launched by Waste Warriors. Various other initiatives including a cow shelter, a cow helpline, and a cow adoption scheme.

Recognition

* February 2016 - Brand Icon Award (''

'') * March 2015 - REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship (

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

& International Confederation of NGO’S - ICONGO) * February 2015 - Service Before Self Award (Mumbai Rotary Club) * September 2014 - Grassroots Women of the Decade Award (Women Economic Forum, Assocham Ladies League) * February 2012 - Amazing Indians Award (

Times Now Times Now is an English news channel in India owned and operated by The Times Group. The channel launched on 23 January 2006 in partnership with Reuters. It is a pay television throughout India. Until 2016, it was India's most popular and the m ...

& Mahindra) * July 2010 - Green Hero Award (Centre for Media Studies)

Background

Projects

Mountain Cleaners

Waste Warriors

Recognition

See also

References

Further reading