This teenager just created a biodegradable plastic to change the world

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🗞️ Driving the news: 18-year-old Irish student Ayra Satheesh has won Europe’s 2026 Earth Prize for Eco Purge, a biodegradable plastic designed to break down safely while helping remove existing microplastics from the environment

🔭 The context: Eco Purge is a plant-based plastic that carries enzymes released as the material degrades. These enzymes are intended to break down microplastics in soil, freshwater and saltwater
• Satheesh has already worked with researchers at UCD Dublin, ATU Letterkenny and BiOrbic, and will use her $12,500 prize to test and scale the technology

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Microplastics are now found in water, soil, food systems and human bodies, while plastic production remains tied to fossil fuel demand
• Innovations like Eco Purge could help reduce future plastic waste while tackling pollution already present in ecosystems

⏭️ What’s next: Satheesh plans to test whether modified bacteria can produce the enzymes cost-effectively, then move toward real-world applications such as packaging and compost bags. A public vote will select the global Earth Prize winner on May 29

💬 One quote: “I just wanted to know what plastic was.” — Ayra Satheesh

📈 One stat: Only 9% of the 240 million tonnes of plastic produced annually is recycled

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