Zeinab Mokalled set up an all female rubbish collection team in her village in the south of Lebanon when municipal waste collection came to a halt during the Israeli occupation of  the 1980’s and 90’s. When the regional governor would not step in to prevent rubbish from piling up, Mokalled took things into her own hands. She employed the women in the village to clean up the streets and began a recycling campaign.

She chose women partly as a means to empower them and partly because she believed they would do a better job than the men as they were more able to spread the word about recycling and rubbish collection among other women in the community.   This kind of group action teaches us that we can make real change in the community we live in, Mokalled herself says she is most proud of:

"Planting the idea in people's minds that caring for the earth is our responsibility in this part of the world. Whether we do it or not, our politicians won't care. It's down to us.

"If everyone does what we did in Arabsalim, there'd be no rubbish problem anywhere in Lebanon."

As well as her work keeping the village clean and tidy, Mokalled also found time to study for a PhD in Arabic studies, which was awarded at the age of 70, showing that there is no age limit on ambition. What an amazing woman.