Sugarcane bagasse

Surat-based siblings Parth and Karishma Dalal are making eco-friendly shoes from sugarcane residue and plastic bottles.

Whether it’s the styrofoam plate you eat from at a wedding, or the plastic lunchbox your kid carries to school, or the disposable cutlery you use when the maid does not come to do the washing — your tableware choices affect the environment. But there is one woman who is fighting the plastic menace with an innovative business idea.

Using natural materials like sugarcane bagasse and coir, Rakshit Prabhakaran has built a water-purifier that thousands of people can afford.