In the 1960s, Western European nations began dumping waste and toxic chemicals in Slovakia, unfettered by environmental regulations. When plans for a new landfill were revealed in 2013, Zuzana Caputova, an attorney from Pezinok, Slovakia, initiated a grassroots campaign that resulted in the Slovakian Supreme Court ruling that the new landfill was illegal. In 2016 she was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for her leadership. Today, Caputova continues to provide legal assistance to communities fighting industrial pollution. Photo credit: Goldman Environmental Prize
