Shubham Issar

Indian environmentalist leading grassroots plastic cleanup initiatives across 12 Indian states

Shubham Issar (b. 1995) is the driving force behind India's largest decentralized plastic waste management network. Starting in 2020 with a small team in Delhi, he developed the Plastic Free World initiative that has since grown to involve over 500 villages and urban communities. His innovative approach combines waste segregation training with micro-enterprise creation, enabling local women's collectives to earn income through plastic recycling (NG Feature).

Issar's system uses blockchain technology to track recycled materials from collection points to manufacturers, ensuring transparency in the supply chain. This has attracted partnerships with major Indian corporations like Tata Chemicals, who now source 30% of their packaging materials through his network. His 2023 TEDx talk (watch here) has been viewed over 2 million times, inspiring similar initiatives in Bangladesh and Nepal.

Notable achievements include diverting 12,000 tons of plastic from landfills in 2022 and establishing India's first plastic-to-road pilot project in Rajasthan. His work directly contributes to achieving UN SDG #12 (Responsible Consumption) and #13 (Climate Action).