New Delhi: Udit Singhal, an 18-year-old boy from Delhi, has been named in the United Nations (UN’s) 2020 Class of Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth on Friday said that Udit has invented a zero-waste ecosystem, Glass2Sand, to tackle the increasing menace of glass waste in Delhi. This new concept restricts glass bottles from reaching landfills where they won’t decompose for a million years and are instead crushed into commercially valuable sand.
Udit told PTI, “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.”
Udit, a student of a British School in New Delhi, got the idea for the project back in 2018 when the gathering of glass bottles became unviable due to a drop in demand. Besides, shipping fees became high and massive storage areas were required to store the bottles as well.
His initiative has stopped 8,000 bottles from being dumped in landfills and produced 4,815 kilograms of high-grade silica sand so far.
The office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth organizes the Young Leaders for SDGs initiative every two years. The UN young leaders for SDGs are people from 18 and 29 years old from across the globe.
This provides recognition and acclaim to young people for their initiatives in setting the pace for the achievement of SDGs and fighting the world’s most pressing issues.
“As the UN marks its 75th anniversary during unprecedented times, the 2020 Young Leaders for the SDGs are a clear example of how young people are leading the way in shaping a more sustainable and inclusive future for all,” the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake said, quoted PTI.
“Despite being disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, young people around the world continue to demonstrate immense resilience, resourcefulness, and leadership in finding innovative solutions to recover better and achieve the SDGs,” she added.