Three 16-year-olds won the Global Earth Prize for clean water

Three 16-year-olds from India have won the Global Earth Prize for a microplastic filter built from tamarind seed, the Geneva-based Earth Foundation announced. Vivaan Chhawchharia, Ariana Agarwal and Avyana Mehta are the first team from India to claim the prize, chosen by 23,000 experts across dozens of countries. Their invention, Plas-Stick, uses powdered tamarind seed as an all-natural clumping agent. After a short agitation period, the seed binds invisible plastic particles into visible clumps that can be lifted out with a handheld magnet. No electricity. No filtration system. Just a crop already sitting in most South Asian kitchens. The idea came from a visit to a rural community, where the students saw drinking water stored in shared containers without filtration. More than 2.2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water worldwide. "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," the trio said. They plan to build decentralised production hubs across rural India next.