One of the Ten Women in the World to Detoxify the Future!

One of the ten women in the world to detoxify the future, Amrita Chatterjee leads Resolve Trash2Cash with a vision that goes far beyond recycling. As the CEO, she brings together sustainability, social justice, and community enterprise - building a model where waste is not just managed, but transformed into livelihoods, leadership, and lasting change.

At Resolve Trash2Cash, this vision takes shape on the ground every day. What may begin as discarded material is reimagined into handcrafted, upcycled products - while the people behind this transformation, primarily women from marginalized waste-picking communities, are trained, skilled, and empowered to become entrepreneurs in their own right. Under her leadership, the enterprise has grown into a space where environmental responsibility meets dignity of work and economic independence.

Amrita Chatterjee is the Trustee & Vice Chair of South Asian Forum for Environment, SAFE, where she has been working at the intersection of environmental communication, gender, and development since the last 21 years. This dual engagement - grassroots enterprise and policy advocacy, shapes the ethos of Resolve Trash2Cash and its partnerships. Collaborations with organizations, communities, and stakeholders are not just operational; they are rooted in a shared commitment to building inclusive and sustainable systems.

Her work has been globally recognized through the Gender Pioneer Award for a Future Detoxified, an initiative by the BRS Secretariat. This recognition places her alongside global leaders like Mariann Lloyd-Smith and Sarojeni Rengam, acknowledging efforts that bring a gender lens into chemicals and waste management - an area where women are often the most affected yet the least represented.

What makes Resolve Trash2Cash truly unique is the strength of its leadership beyond our CEO. The enterprise is proudly co-shaped by its partners - Mitu Mistri and Maya Ghosh, two women who come from humble beginnings and today stand as partners of a long-standing MSME. Their journeys reflect resilience, skill, and unwavering determination. From navigating socio-economic challenges to becoming decision-makers within the enterprise, they embody the very change that Resolve Trash2Cash seeks to create.

Their presence is not only symbolic, it is also structural. They bring lived experience into leadership, ensuring that the enterprise remains grounded in the realities of the communities it works with. Together, this leadership team represents a powerful shift: from marginalization to ownership, from informal labour to entrepreneurship.

For Resolve Trash2Cash, a recognition like the Gender Pioneer Award is a reflection of the core philosophy of the enterprise. Waste management is not gender-neutral. Women, particularly in underserved communities, face greater exposure to environmental risks while having limited access to decision-making spaces. By centering women in its model, through skill-building, leadership opportunities, and income generation - the organization actively works to shift this imbalance.

Through its work and partnerships, Resolve Trash2Cash also contributes to broader conversations around environmental governance, aligning with global frameworks such as the Rotterdam Convention that increasingly recognize the importance of gender-responsive approaches.

Today, Resolve Trash2Cash stands as more than a recycling initiative, it is a growing ecosystem of artisans, community leaders, partners, and conscious consumers. Together, we are rethinking waste, redefining livelihoods, and building a future that is not only cleaner, but more equitable.

Amrita Chatterjee’s leadership, along with partners Mitu Mistri and Maya Ghosh, continues to guide this journey, where every product tells a story, every partnership creates impact, and every step moves us closer to a future that is truly “detoxified.”

To explore more about the Gender Pioneer Award for a Future Detoxified, visit: https://www.brsmeas.org/Gender/GenderPioneerAwards/tabid/5819/language/en-US/Default.aspx#:~:text=You%20are%20here:%20BRS%20Conventions,Eligibility%20criteria