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King William's College team tackles plastic pollution of the oceans to reach final of Conrad Challenge

Mon, 12 Apr 2021

Five students from King William’s College have reached the final of the annual Conrad Challenge after designing a rubbish bin which could reduce the amount of plastic polluting the oceans.

Year 12 students Christina Adcock, Catherine Atkinson, Anna Cregeen, Ruairi McNally and Ava Treutler took up the challenge in August last year as part of the global competition for young people aged 13-18 - founded by Nancy Conrad to honour the legacy of her husband, Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad.

Each year the ManSat group sponsors Isle of Man teams to enter the Conrad Challenge by covering their entry fees and travel costs should a team reach the final, which usually takes place at the Kennedy Space Center.

This year there were seven categories to enter, with the KWC team – called Catalysing Solutions – entering ‘Oceans: The Plastic Problem’.

The team’s product is DigestEZ – a rubbish bin that uses plastic-eating enzymes to break down certain types of plastics.

Team CEO, Ava, explained that they drew inspiration from their time helping Isle of Man charity Beach Buddies: “The aim of the product is to stop more plastics from ending up in the oceans and reduce the overall levels of plastic polluting the planet as a home digester for everyday plastic waste.

“Some of us recalled our times with Beach Buddies and seeing all of the amazing conservation work taking place on our Island – a UNESCO Biosphere. The thought of trying to solve the plastic pollution problem just felt right. There may also be an opportunity to implement the product on the Isle of Man if we are successful.”

Because of Covid-19, this year’s finals will take place online via the 2021 Conrad Virtual Innovation Summit.

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