Lankan science undergraduates’ team wins South Asian youth hackathon with innovative solution to fight plastic pollution

A team of Sri Lankan science undergraduates became overall winners of a South Asian youth hackathon to come up with innovative solutions to tackle the global crisis of plastic pollution.

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The winners designed a biodegradable fish storage box as an alternative to Styrofoam-based boxes widely used in fisheries. The team, calling itself 'Myco Box by White Root', instead proposes to use mycelium, a root-like structure found in fungus. Second place was won by an Indian youth team called 'Green Alchemy' who came up with an enzyme-based plastic biodegradation innovation. Coming third was the 'Eco Pet' team from Bhutan, who proposed a gamification platform linked to a smartphone app to promote consumer education for reducing household waste.

These winners were chosen from among 23 finalist teams comprising 67 young men and women aged 18 to 30 in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The competition, known as PLEASE Hack, was an initiative under the Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia (PLEASE) Project, a five-year regional initiative implemented by the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP), funded by the World Bank and supported by UNOPS.