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Cellulases are enzymes that catalyse the degradation of cellulose–the most abundant renewable biomaterial–and are used in a wide range of applications including healthcare, textiles, detergents, food, feed, and biorefinery. Different industrial applications require specific properties of cellulases with regard to their compatibility with the conditions in which they are applied. While efforts to engineer cellulases with improved properties can meet the demand for more benign and efficient processes, screening provides a valuable resource for discovering unique properties of cellulases. Here, we report the screening of cellulase-producing microbes from sugarcane bagasse and filter cake–waste products of sugar industry. Samples collected from a local sugar factory were cultured in selective media containing carboxymethyl cellulose. One hundred colonies from each sample were grown on selective agar for cellulase activity detection using Congo red staining and four were selected based on their cellulase activity index. Extracellular cellulase activity was determined by dinitrosalicylic acid method using carboxymethyl cellulose as a substrate. The cellulase activity ranged from 0.003 to 0.016 U/mL and appeared to increase and plateau with culturing time. Gram and lactophenol cotton blue staining suggest that the cellulase-producing microbes were bacteria and fungi. Strategically, high-throughput large scale screening to select the best candidates for further characterization should be performed. However in a low-resource setting, we believe that concerted discovery efforts, albeit at the grass-root level, could serve as initial steps toward the realization of a green bioeconomy in Indonesia–an archipelago where diverse microbial potential awaits to be untapped.