Skip to main content
Welcome to the United Nations
Language:
  • العربية
  • 中文
  • English
  • Français
  • Русский
  • Español
  • Português
  • Kiswahili
  • Other
    • Hindi हिंदी
    • Global
United Nations
UN News
Global perspective Human stories

Search the United Nations

Advanced Search
  • Home
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • UN Art and Gifts
    • History Corner
  • Topics
    • Peace and Security
    • Economic Development
    • Humanitarian Aid
    • Climate and Environment
    • Human Rights
    • UN Affairs
    • Women
    • Law and Crime Prevention
    • Health
    • Culture and Education
    • SDGs
    • Migrants and Refugees
  • In depth
    • Interviews
    • Features
    • Photo Stories
    • News in Brief
    • The Lid is On
    • UN Gender Focus
    • UN and Africa
    • UN Podcasts
  • Secretary-General
    • Spokesperson
    • All Statements
    • Selected Speeches
    • Press Encounters
    • Official Travels
  • Media
    • UN Video
    • UN Photo
    • Meeting Coverage
    • Media Accreditation
    • Webtv
  • Home
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • UN Art and Gifts
    • History Corner
  • Topics
    • Peace and Security
    • Economic Development
    • Humanitarian Aid
    • Climate and Environment
    • Human Rights
    • UN Affairs
    • Women
    • Law and Crime Prevention
    • Health
    • Culture and Education
    • SDGs
    • Migrants and Refugees
  • In depth
    • Interviews
    • Features
    • Photo Stories
    • News in Brief
    • The Lid is On
    • UN Gender Focus
    • UN and Africa
    • UN Podcasts
  • Secretary-General
    • Spokesperson
    • All Statements
    • Selected Speeches
    • Press Encounters
    • Official Travels
  • Media
    • UN Video
    • UN Photo
    • Meeting Coverage
    • Media Accreditation
    • Webtv
 

Subscribe

Audio Hub

Fatemah Alzelzela is the co-founder of Eco Star, a non-profit recycling group in Kuwait.
UNEP
Fatemah Alzelzela is the co-founder of Eco Star, a non-profit recycling group in Kuwait.

Young Champions of the Earth: trashing barriers to boost recycling in Kuwait

27 December 2020
Climate and Environment

An electrical engineer from Kuwait is being recognized by the United Nations for her success in raising the environmental importance and economic value of recycling in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

Fatemah Alzelzela has been honoured as a United Nations Young Champion of the Earth, 2020.
Fatemah Alzelzela has been honoured as a United Nations Young Champion of the Earth, 2020., by UNEP

Fatemah Alzelzela says she had to overcome stigma around waste collection, scepticism from the business community as well as prejudice about her age and gender in order to set up her recycling company, Eco Star.

Since early 2019, the company has recycled over three-and-a-half tonnes of plastic, 10 tonnes of paper and 120 tonnes of metal in a country where 90 per cent of waste ends up in landfill sites.

And those people who provide material for recycling are rewarded with plants.

Fatemah Alzelzela is one of seven innovators who have been recognized as United Nations Environment Programme’s Young Champions of the Earth for 2020.

 

 

♦ Receive daily updates directly in your inbox - Subscribe here to a topic.
♦ Download the UN News app for your iOS or Android devices.
 
Young Champions of the Earth prize

Related Stories

Vidyut Mohan co-founded Takachar, which helps farmers to convert crop waste into fuels.

Young Champions of the Earth: Indian’s burning desire for energy

Low-cost construction materials made of recycled plastic waste and sand is being sustainably manufactured in Kenya by Gjenge Makers.

Young Champions of the Earth: turning plastics into paving in Kenya

Xiaoyuan Ren (right) has developed a data platform that tests and records the quality of groundwater across a thousand villages in rural China.

Young Champions of the Earth: mapping clean water in China

News Tracker: Past Stories on This Issue

Low-cost construction materials made of recycled plastic waste and sand is being sustainably manufactured in Kenya by Gjenge Makers.

Young Champions of the Earth: turning plastics into paving in Kenya

26 December 2020
Climate and Environment

A Kenyan entrepreneur is being lauded by the UN for developing a machine that recycles discarded plastic into paving stones for use in construction projects.

Xiaoyuan Ren (right) has developed a data platform that tests and records the quality of groundwater across a thousand villages in rural China.

Young Champions of the Earth: mapping clean water in China

25 December 2020
Climate and Environment

A mobile app which tells the inhabitants of rural China if their water is safe to drink, has won a young woman from Beijing a top UN environmental award.

Resources

  • Navigate the News
  • Information for Broadcasters
  • UN System Links
  • Media Alert
  • UN Journal
  • Meetings Coverage
  • Audiovisual Library

Secretary-General

  • All Statements
  • Official Travels
  • Press Encounters
  • SG Twitter

Spokesperson's Office

  • Latest Statements
  • Briefing Highlights
  • Briefing Transcripts
  • Notes to Correspondents

Find Us

  • UN News App
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • RSS
  • Contact UN News
United Nations
Donate
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Soundcloud
  • Podcast
  • UN Social Media
  • A-Z Site Index
  • Copyright
  • FAQ
  • Fraud Alert
  • Privacy Notice
  • Terms of Use
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Soundcloud
  • Podcast
  • The UN on Social Media