For Garvita Gulhati, the glass should only ever be half full.
The 22-year-old youth climate leader from the southern Indian city of Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) is part of the United Nation’s We The Change campaign and is better known as the “water girl of India” for her efforts in minimising water waste.
In 2015, Garvita was on holiday with her parents when she was accosted by a child beggar who wanted her water bottle.
“Her eyes lit up when I gave it to her. That made me realise that there are people who do not have easy access to drinking water so I started thinking about ways in which I can help,” she tells us.
“When I learnt that globally every year 14 million litres of water is left in glasses in restaurants, that gave me a tangible place to start this campaign.”
Her idea was simple – ask customers if they want water, pour only half a glass if they say yes, and refill only if they ask for more. And if there’s still leftover water, use it for watering plants and cleaning the floor.
Initially, restaurants “weren’t keen to take advice from a teenager” but she persisted and in early 2016, some restaurants adopted the campaign.
Her big breakthrough came in March 2019 when the National Restaurant Association of India – which represents over half a million restaurants – came on board for the “glass half full” campaign. Since then, state governments, schools and charities have signed up.
Her efforts have helped save 10 million litres of water – enough to fill up four Olympic-size swimming pools or meet the daily drinking water needs of 250,000 people.