Tuvimanyu Gautam, a high schooler passionate about environmental activism, leads a non-profit initiative - ourRSIDubai -  to collect e-waste from the doorstep of residents and dispose of it at a recycling company’s collection point. His team of young student volunteers also engage in creating awareness campaigns. He spoke to Waste & Recycling MEA magazine about the motivation behind his initiatives. 

As someone who loves to lead from the front, Gautam has been on the school prefectural board for the last eight years and subscribes to the view that one should oneself be the instrument of change. He has been associated with the Special Education Department of his school  as an Inclusion Champion, volunteering in its activities. “It is one role which I truly treasure,” he says. He is an avid MUNer and has won many awards in international Model United Nations.  

Though his skills shine through in activities outside the classroom, he has managed to consistently be a top scorer too. “I scored 95 per cent in 10th grade CBSE Board exams.  I was recognised with Principal’s Award as the overall achiever in school for the year 2022-23.” 

How does he balance school and volunteering work? “I find volunteering a rewarding experience. I look forward to more and more of it and find ways to accommodate it in my schedule. Obviously close to exams, I feel stretched but my supportive team is of tremendous help. My advice to my peers would be – Pick up a cause you are passionate about, then it would be no strain.”  

Excerpts from the interview: 

What inspired you to take up volunteering work at such a young age?  

Though I have been volunteering in community initiatives since my childhood, my environmental volunteering journey began in earnest when my project ‘Longisense’ was awarded under UAE Young Innovators Program and was displayed at Expo 2020 in Terra pavilion. Sustainability was one of the three major themes at the expo and its presentation there made a profound impact on me. As the President of Environment at the school prefectural board, I was already participating and getting involved in multiple environmental initiatives. It is then that I began hands-on volunteering to address the issue of callous disposal of e-waste and began collecting it for responsible disposal.  

Can you tell us about a specific environmental issue that you are particularly passionate about and why it matters to you? 

I strongly feel about the growing challenges caused by end-of-life electronics and electrical materials. Why should technological advancement lead to degradation of the environment? The world today generates a staggering 50 million tonnes of e-waste annually. In my volunteering experience, I realised that most residents have sincere intentions to support sustainability and be responsible citizens, but not many are able to translate it into action. It is this gap between intention and behaviour which I tried to bridge through my  initiative “ourRSIdubai”.  

What’s your contribution in the waste management and recycling sector? What is ‘Our Responsible Society Initiative, Dubai’ all about?  

In November 2021, I began creating awareness about the need to responsibly dispose of the end-of-life electronic and electrical items in my residential community through community social groups. To ingrain the habit of segregating the e-waste from regular trash, I volunteered to collect end-of-life electrical and electronics materials from the doorstep of residents and dispose of it at a recycling company’s collection point. The response was so tremendous that within the first three months, I carted off hundreds of kgs of e-waste to EFATE’s Sustainable City collection point. As many youngsters also wanted to support the cause and the process, I founded the “Our Responsible Society Initiative, Dubai'', a student-led non-profit Initiative.  

In the last two years, we have become a group of more than 20 active volunteers across the UAE, and many indirect ones, who support as and when the need arises. ourRSIdubai is accorded the status of EFATE Student Partner and recently we also started collaborating with YFC (Yes Full Circle Solutions).  

We have been allowed to place permanent e-waste bins in some residential communities, offices and schools. We also run sustainability campaigns (Say Yes to Sustainable Future, old paper recycling, educating facility staff about the need to segregate e-waste, and training eco-warriors) in person from time-to-time. On our social media handle, we have profiled leading personalities and organisations in the field of environmental sustainability.  

Presently, we are working on developing an app - ourRSI app - that will provide a three-way partnership between the community, the volunteers and the recycling companies. The android version is almost ready and would soon be launched on Google Play Store and followed by Apple App Store.  

How do you engage with your community to encourage others, especially young people, to take action for the environment? 

My engagement with the community is direct as well as through a team of volunteers. The student-volunteers are mentored and handed over material to create awareness about the need to be sustainable in their immediate social circle and community groups. These volunteers also participate in all ourRSIdubai campaigns and drives. Through this hands-on involvement, they learn a lot about the environmental issues and become more confident to speak about them. ourRSIdubai team finds that ‘Learning by doing’ works best for the youth. 

What was your experience at the Climate Ambassador Program for COP 28? 

The Climate Ambassador Program held under the aegis of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment helped me experience first-hand what goes at Conference of Parties (COP). I realised how climate change is affecting different countries differently and the need to find customised solutions to them. Participating in discussions as climate negotiator was indeed a valuable experience in my environmental journey. It’s exhilarating to be able to understand how policies are framed, how varied perspectives need to be embedded in it and how it should translate into reality.   

The COP 28 Presidency has launched the International Youth Climate Delegate Program to ensure that young people’s perspectives are at the heart of global policy making on climate change. In your opinion, how can young people contribute effectively to global efforts in combating climate change and other environmental issues?  

The youth of the world have always been at the forefront of bringing about change. They are also the ones most ready to experiment and make amends. The easiest way for youth to mitigate climate change is to make sustainable choices themselves, and to create awareness about it in their immediate and extended circle. It’s easier to make loud noises but much more meaningful to start setting things right oneself first.  

How do you envision the future of youth activism? 

I consider my generation to be quite focused and balanced in its worldview. It could be a result of the very wide and faster exposure to changes we have witnessed. I firmly feel that this would be a generation which would champion, get involved and work for the cause it believes in.