Arya Satheesh. Image: The Earth Foundation
Arya Satheesh’s Eco Purge is a biodegradable plastic that breaks down safely, while releasing catalysts helping to remove existing microplastics from the nearby environment.
An 18-year-old Irish woman has been named the European category winner of the 2026 Earth Prize for her creation of a biodegradable plastic that can also break down surrounding environmental microplastics.
Arya Satheesh’s Eco Purge is a biodegradable plastic that breaks down safely, while releasing catalysts helping to remove existing microplastics from the nearby environment.
Satheesh and six other continental winners – to be announced throughout this week – will each receive $12,500 to further develop and implement their ideas, with the aid of mentoring and other learning resources, before a global winner is chosen by public vote at the end of May.
