A Co Donegal student has won a prestigious environmental prize for developing a biodegradable plastic that breaks down safely but also gets rid of existing microplastics.
Arya Satheesh, an 18-year-old Leaving Certificate student in Loreto Secondary School in Letterkenny, was the winner of the Earth Prize 2026.
There were some 4,000 entrants from around the world, with seven regional award winners. Satheesh will share in the total of $100,000 (€84,000) in funding given to the winners.
She aims to put her share of the prize, worth about €12,000, into developing her project further.
She said winning the prize was a “dream come true. This is just the beginning, and I hope it can become a scalable solution that makes a real difference”.
