Safety

[ysabetwordsmith]

3 Teens Win Global Earth Prize for Inventing Tamarind Powder That Easily Removes Microplastics

Their grand prize-winning invention is called Plas-Stick, and used 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 nothing more than a magnet.

Notably, Plas-Stick is the first-ever Global Winner of The Earth Prize from India.

Designed for use in shared water containers, the biodegradable powder binds invisible plastic particles into visible clumps that can then be easily removed with a handheld magnet, offering a simple and low-cost alternative to complex filtration systems.


Gizmology for the win! \o/ Extra credit for sustainable ingredients.

Comments

......

[(Anonymous)]

Holy Crap.

(...respect!)

[wispfox]

I've been wondering since I first heard about this if it simply attaches to _everything_ in the water (see: shared water containers), or if it somehow actually targets plastic.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

That's an interesting question. I suppose you could examine both the clumps and the purified water under a microscope to find out, or use a water test to identify what's left in the water.

In particular, I wonder if it binds to salt.

Re: Thoughts

[wispfox]

Right. The creators probably know, but my curiosity was in part because if it _does_ target only plastic, there become a great many more uses for it. Which they presumably would have mentioned, if so?

But it needs to not target organics or needed nutrients or other things that are supposed to be there for it to be useful outside of water containers.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Much depends on what it binds to, but taking plastic out of water remains very useful.