Aditi Mittal

Indian social entrepreneur who developed biodegradable alternatives to plastics using banana waste

Aditi Mittal (b.1995) is the founder of BananaEco, a company revolutionizing sustainable packaging through innovative uses of agricultural waste. Growing up in Tamil Nadu, she observed how banana farmers discarded 30% of their harvest due to cosmetic imperfections, while plastic pollution choked local waterways. In 2020, she pioneered a patented process converting banana stems into compostable packaging materials that degrade within 180 days.

By 2023, BananaEco supplied 12% of India's eco-friendly packaging market, partnering with major brands like Domex. Mittal's 2022 TEDx talk "How Bananas Could Save the Ocean" highlighted how her materials reduce marine plastic by 40% in test regions. She also created the Banana Farmers' Collective, providing fair wages to 2,000+ rural families. Her 2024 book 《Waste Not: Turning Agricultural Discards into Gold》 became a bestseller in environmental science, translated into 7 languages. MIT recognized her as a "Top 35 Innovator Under 35" in 2025.