Three Indian teenagers who turned tamarind seeds into a way to pull microplastics from drinking water have now taken the top global prize.
Vivaan Chhawchharia, Ariana Agarwal and Avyana Mehta, all 16, have won the Global Earth Prize after earlier taking the Asian award, according to an announcement from Geneva. The global prize was voted on by 23,000 experts from dozens of countries.
“Being named the Global Winners of The Earth Prize is incredibly special for all of us, especially as the first team from India to receive this recognition,” the trio said in a statement.
“What started as an idea between students has now been recognised among thousands of projects from around the world, which feels both surreal and deeply motivating.”
Their invention, called Plas-Stick, uses powdered tamarind seed as the base for an all-natural microplastic clumping agent. After a short agitation period, the clumped microplastic-tamarind mass can be removed with a magnet.
The Earth Prize said Plas-Stick is the first-ever Global Winner from India. It was designed for use in shared water containers, with the biodegradable powder binding invisible plastic particles into visible clumps that can then be removed with a handheld magnet as a low-cost alternative to complex filtration systems.
The idea came from the team’s studies in environmental science and a visit to a rural community, where they observed that drinking water is often stored in shared containers without access to advanced filtration systems.
The source text says more than 2.2 billion people globally lack safely managed drinking water infrastructure, increasing reliance on stored water that may contain microplastics.
The team said they wanted a solution that was effective and accessible, and developed a system that requires no electricity or complex infrastructure. It uses a crop already widely used in South Asian cuisine and one that is cultivated and grows in the wild.
“Plas-Stick was designed to be simple, affordable and accessible, and this support allows us to take it beyond pilot schools and scale it to many more communities that need it most!”
Following the global win, the team plans to scale the solution through decentralised production hubs and expand to rural communities across India.
The Earth Prize is run by The Earth Foundation, a non-profit based in Geneva, Switzerland, founded during the School Strike for Climate in 2019.
Read more from Good News Network.
