All articles tagged with #earth prize
Three Indian teens win the Global Earth Prize with Plas-Stick, a tamarind-seed powder that clumps microplastics in water and can be removed with a magnet, offering a simple, low-cost solution for safer drinking water in shared containers; they plan to scale production to rural communities and this marks India's first Global Earth Prize win.
Ayra Satheesh, an 18-year-old, was named Europe’s winner of the 2026 Earth Prize for Eco Purge, a plant-based biodegradable plastic that embeds enzymes to break down microplastics in soil, freshwater and seawater. Developed with researchers from University College Dublin, ATU Letterkenny and the BiOrbic Bioeconomy Centre, the project aims to scale up for real-world use in packaging and compost bags using a $100,000 prize ($85,000). The approach relies on releasing enzymes as the plastic degrades, potentially via engineered bacteria to produce the enzyme, a costly but long-term strategy. Satheesh advocates reducing plastic use in the EU, arguing recycling alone won’t solve the crisis, as only about 9% of plastics are recycled. A global Earth Prize winner will be announced May 29.