Pinky Chandran

Pinky Chandran is an independent journalist, researcher, and author. She is the Founding Member of SWMRT and a Trustee of Hasiru Dala, a social impact organisation that works with waste-pickers and others since 2010 to ensure a life of dignity.

Pinky tracks key interconnected policy developments, citizen movements around waste management, green livelihoods, informal waste economy, waste trade, plastic production and pollution, extended producer responsibility, circular economy and finance mechanisms. She writes extensively on these issues. Garbage inspires her to write poetry, too.

She has co-authored ‘Valuing Urban Waste: The Need for a Comprehensive Recycling Policy Version 1 (2018), Hasiru Dala; A Mirage: Assessment of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and SWM Rules 2016: Wastepickers Perspectives Across India, supported by the Alliance of Indian Waste Pickers and IGSSS (2019); “Communicating the Sustainable Development Goals-A Toolkit for Community Radio Stations”, developed by SMART and Supported by UNESCO and UNICEF (2020).

Pinky is passionate about community media and believes that people should have access to create their own media. She currently serves as a Board Member at Seeking Modern Applications for Real Transformation (SMART, an NGO committed to empowering communities) and runs Radio Mewat, a community radio in Haryana.