KUALA LUMPUR, June 13: Three 16-year-olds from India, Avyana Mehta, Ariana Agarwal and Vivaan Chhawchharia, and their teacher, Minal Jain, were recently named global winners of The Earth Prize 2026 for producing magnetic tamarind powder that can remove dangerous microplastics from water.
Known as Team Plas-Stick, they are from the Jayshree Periwal International School, Jaipur, Rajasthan. The team’s achievement was highlighted by CNN today.
Congkak is a traditional Malaysian board game of logic, counting, and strategy, often played in villages and homes across the country, consisting of a board usually carved from wood, shaped like a long boat or oval tray, with two rows of seven small holes (called houses) and two larger end holes (called storehouses or home holes). Traditionally, players use marble‑sized beads or tamarind seeds for the game.
Around 23,000 people voted on Team Plas-Stick from a list of seven regional winners from North America, Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Oceania and Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Plas-Stick is also the first-ever Global Winner of The Earth Prize from India.
The Earth Prize is the world’s largest environmental competition and ‘ideas incubator’ for 13-19 year-olds, empowering young people with mentorship and shared US$100,000 funding
Representing the Regional Winner for Asia, Plas-Stick had already received US$12,500 to scale up its solution. The winners had added the powder to coloured water, mixing and attracting clumped microplastics using a handheld magnet.
Plas-Stick will also receive a sustainably crafted ‘100-year’ flag to be flown at their school, handsewn from recycled sailboat sails, and passed on from the previous winners.
The idea for Plas-Stick emerged after the team visited a rural community where drinking water was commonly stored in shared plastic containers, without advanced filtration systems.
During the visit, they saw a child drink from one of these containers and highlighted the exposure to microplastics through everyday drinking water, particularly in underserved rural communities in India.
Globally, over 2.2 billion people lack safe, managed drinking water infrastructure, increasing reliance on stored water that may contain microplastics.
Determined to create a solution, the team developed a biodegradable powder made from discarded tamarind seeds. When added to water, the powder attracts and binds microplastic particles into visible clumps that can then be removed using a handheld magnet.
Designed to work without electricity or complex machinery, the solution is low-cost and scalable. Already deployed through workshops and demonstrations, Plas-Stick has reached and educated more than 8,000 students and teachers so far. The team was advised by Dr Rajesh Khandelwal to further strengthen testing and development of the technology.
Following their Global Winner recognition, the team now plans to scale up the solution through decentralised production hubs and expand to rural communities across India, making safer drinking water more accessible across rural Indian communities and beyond.
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. At a time when climate anxiety affects a majority of young people – with 59 per cent reporting they are very worried about the environment – the Prize provides a pathway from concern to action, equipping students with the tools to develop tangible, real-world solutions.
Peter McGarry, Founder of The Earth Foundation, said of Plas-Stick’s win: ”Team Plas-Stick represents exactly the kind of innovation The Earth Prize was created to elevate: solutions that are scientifically grounded, environmentally responsible and accessible to the communities that need them most. By transforming agricultural waste into a practical tool for removing microplastics from drinking water, these young innovators are addressing a growing global challenge with remarkable creativity and purpose.”
For young people aged 13-19 years who have been inspired by this year’s Earth Prize cohort, there has never been a better time to innovate for our planet. Registrations are already open for 2027 at https://www.theearthprize.org.
The Earth Foundation empowers, educates and inspires young people to tackle environmental challenges. Founded in response to the 2019 student-led climate rallies, it launched its flagship initiative, The Earth Prize, the world’s largest environmental competition and ‘ideas incubator’ for young people.
The competition aims to inspire and empower the next generation of environmental innovators, supporting participants with the tools they need to develop eco solutions for real-world impact, including one-on-one mentoring, learning resources and US$100,000 shared funding for the winners.
Since 2019, The Earth Prize has reached over 21,000 students across 169 countries and territories, and awarded over US$500,000.
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