Tiruchirappalli, April 30 -- Water hyacinth, a fast-spreading aquatic plant often seen as a major environmental menace is now being transformed into a sustainable solution for food packaging by a young ecologist from Tamil Nadu.

Sushmita Krishnan has developed a unique, chemical-free paper from water hyacinth that can be used for food packaging, turning an ecological challenge into an innovative opportunity.

The idea traces back to her school days, when a simple newspaper article sparked a question in her mind: could water hyacinth, widely regarded as a problematic weed, be converted into something useful? That curiosity eventually led to years of research and innovation.

"Since my school days, I have been reading about the problem of ...