In India, waste workers and kabadiwaalas often go unnoticed — their contributions buried under the very trash they help clean. Society tends to look down upon them, rarely acknowledging the back-breaking work they do to keep our cities from drowning in waste. Yet, without them, our overflowing bins and choked landfills would be far worse.

But for two young boys growing up in Thane, Maharashtra, one kabadiwaala was nothing short of a hero.

Henik Gala and Shreyas Jalapur were classmates when they first noticed the local scrap dealer working across from their school. While most kids rushed home, the duo would linger, watching him sort, weigh, and cart off piles of discarded materials. “He was solving a real problem,” Henik recalls. “That stuck with us.”

Over time, their admiration turned into a shared........

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