Copper is the third most abundant heavy metal in the environment important for human survival. However, in excess it can have deleterious effects on aquatic as well as terrestrial beings. The detection of Cu2+ has huge significance in food safety and environment monitoring. The conventional detection methods are costly and complex. Therefore, we have designed a waste derived material for Cu2+ determination in complex samples. Our work is based on the eco-friendly synthesis of waste derived Al-MOF with remarkable properties grafted with L-Cysteine to develop the novel MIL-53(Al)-Cys sensor. The formation of the sensing probe was verified by various characterization techniques including FE-SEM, HR-TEM, PXRD, FTIR, UV-Vis and Photoluminescence spectroscopies. The developed waste-derived probe showed multifunctional properties with the visual and fluorescent detection of Cu2+ ions with high sensitivity and fast response time. The proposed waste-derived fluoro-chromogenic sensor exhibited a “turn of” detection response mechanism with a visual color change only the presence of Cu2+ ions. The results showed reproducible, selective and stable response with a LOD of 0.2 ng/mL, which is lower than the permissible levels. Therefore, the observed results highlight the potential of developed waste-derived MIL-53(Al)-Cys chemosensor as a promising platform in water remediation applications.