Indian Teen Named In UN’s Sustainable Development Leaders 2020

The United Nations (UN) has named an Indian teen, Udit Singhal, to the 2020 cohort of young leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is the highest profile recognition opportunity at the world body for youngsters who are leading efforts to combat the world's most important issues.

Singhal, 18, is the founder of Glass2Sand, a zero-waste ecosystem that addresses the growing menace of glass waste in Delhi.

He has been named to the 2020 Class of 17 Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals.

"As a Young Leader for the SDGs, I will be an active agent of change. I hope to be able to encourage communities to embrace a better civic sense to create sustainable living spaces — like when mountain-high landfills are detonated," Singhal said in the statement.

According to Glass2Sand website, Singhal's initiative has stopped over 8,000 bottles from being dumped in landfills and produced 4,815 kilograms of high-grade silica sand so far.

Singhal, a student of The British School in Delhi, conceived the Glass2Sand project in 2018 when collection of bottles had become unviable for waste collectors due to dropping demand as large storage spaces were required but the cost of transport was high.