Founder of Love.Litter.Beauty, Ashish Narvekar, has won a national award in recognition of his efforts in organising volunteer-led clean-up drives across Goa
RAMANDEEP KAUR | NT BUZZ
For more than a year, Ashish Narvekar from Porvorim and a growing group of volunteers have spent their weekends cleaning beaches, plateaus, waterfalls, and trekking trails across Goa. The Love.Litter.Beauty founder has now been recognised with first place in the Green Changemaker category at the Aranya Awards 2026, organised by Greenmyna in Mumbai. He was the only recipient from Goa at the first edition of the awards, which recognised work across nine categories of environmental conservation.
Narvekar came across the awards on social media. The organisers invited nominations from across the country, with four finalists shortlisted in each category before a 10-day public
voting round.
More than 6,000 votes were cast across categories before the winners were announced on June 28. He shares, “For most of the first week, it was neck and neck between me and another nominee. In the last few days I reached out to people for support and that helped.”
The event also brought him in touch with people working in wildlife conservation, mangrove protection, recycling, upcycling, and sustainable products. “It was good to see the different ways people are working on environmental issues and to exchange ideas with them,” he says.
Narvekar started Love.Litter.Beauty in November 2024 after noticing litter during trekking trips as a freelance guide with Adventure Breaks. “I started carrying back one or two bags of garbage after every hike. There was one secluded beach in South Goa that I cleaned over two seasons. When I returned the next year, I saw it had stayed clean. Nobody had cleaned it before. That made me realise regular effort, even by one person, can restore a place.”
In the early days, he organised and funded all clean-ups himself, including gloves, garbage bags, and refreshments. “If people have to arrange everything themselves, many won’t come. I wanted to remove those barriers.”
Over time, Instagram became the main platform for announcing clean-up drives and bringing in volunteers. It is also used to share other citizen-led environmental work. He says, “If someone is organising a clean-up, they can reach out to me. I’ll share it on Instagram and WhatsApp so more volunteers can join.”
Narvekar collaborates in waste management and conservation with others in the field, including founder of Goa Citizens Waste Collective Natasha Parekh. The two organised two clean-ups at Socorro Plateau in March, involving around 110 volunteers and clearing an estimated 1,200 kg of waste.
He has also worked with Palm Grove Resort for beach clean-ups at Morjim and Ashwem.
The initiative now covers roadsides, football grounds, plateaus, waterfalls, and trekking trails, supported by regular volunteers. After clean-ups, waste is handed over to panchayats or authorised contractors and transported to Material Recovery Facilities or the Goa Waste Management Corporation’s processing plant, where recyclable waste is separated.
Beyond clean-up drives, Narvekar says the issue also lies in how waste is handled across the state. He estimates that about 60% of the issue comes from gaps in waste management systems not keeping pace with demand. “In many areas, wet waste isn’t collected regularly, sanitary waste collection is inconsistent and several panchayats still don’t have functioning material recovery facilities,” he says. Around 20%, he continues, is due to improper disposal by tourists in places such as beaches and picnic spots where bins are inadequate or poorly used.
“The remaining 20% comes from local residents, with littering also seen at football grounds, plateaus and waterfalls,” says Narvekar, who works in an administrative role with the state health department.
With the monsoon limiting large clean-ups, Narvekar plans smaller drives at waterfalls and guided visits to the state waste facility to show how segregation and processing work. He says, “Most people know about segregation only in theory. Seeing the system helps them understand why proper
disposal matters.”
Narvekar says people often wait for others to act. “Start with something small in your own neighbourhood.” He suggests clean-ups, tree planting or reporting civic issues to local panchayats and following up until action is taken.
