The Prince of Wales has announced the finalists for the second Earthshot Award. Finalists include the Great Bubble Barrier, which catches plastic before it reaches the oceans, and a zero-waste city.
15 innovative ideas from around the world have entered the 2022 environmental competition and five winners will be announced in Boston, USA next month, each receiving £1 million to develop their projects. is.
There were also finalists from the UK for the first time, with two UK-based entries selected.
Notpla Hard Material – a London-based startup run by Pierre Paslier and Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez – is making packaging from seaweed and plants as an alternative to single-use plastic.
We have already created over 1 million biodegradable takeaway food boxes for Just Eat.
Another UK finalist, Low Carbon Materials (LCM), based in County Durham, uses non-recyclable plastic waste to make traditional concrete blocks carbon-free.
Dr. Natasha Boulding, co-founder of LCM, said:
“With LCM, everything could change. We have achieved tangible net zero, and now the world needs to start using it.”
Describing the finalists as “innovators, leaders and visionaries,” William said they proved they have “many reasons to be optimistic about the future of our planet.”
“They are committed to bold solutions that not only solve the planet’s greatest environmental problems, but also have the power to create healthier, more prosperous and more sustainable communities for generations to come. We put time, energy and talent into it,” he added.
Inspired by John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot Project, which advanced human achievements, William launched an ambitious 10 Created £50 million annual prize pool.
The prince said he was “very excited” to celebrate the finalists and meet the winners when he and the Princess of Wales head to Kennedy’s hometown of Boston on December 2 for the awards ceremony.
Among other finalists is The Great Bubble Barrier from the Netherlands. Here, air is forced through a perforated tube to create a curtain of foam that raises the plastic to the surface and leads it into the waste collection system.
The city of Amsterdam’s circular economy could be a winner with a city-wide initiative to establish a fully circular economy by 2050, waste nothing and recycle everything.
Kenya’s Mukuru Clean Stoves offers cleaner burning stoves that reduce unhealthy indoor pollution and provide a safer way to cook.
The initiative was started by Charlotte Magai, who grew up in one of Nairobi’s largest slums, Mukuru, and used to sell charcoal for fuel.
Charlot suffered from recurring respiratory infections from charcoal contamination and was looking for another solution after her daughter was badly burned by a charcoal stove in 2012.
Her eco-stove uses processed biomass made from charcoal, wood and sugar cane, and causes 90% less pollution than an open fire. She plans to create an even cleaner version that burns ethanol.
Others in the final include Fleather, leather made from Indian floral waste. Oman-based 44.01 removes CO2 by mineralizing it in rocks. Hutan Malaysia – A conservation group that creates wildlife corridors so that orangutans can safely move to new habitats. Australia’s Great Her Barrier Her Reef Her group of Indigenous women use ancient knowledge and digital technology to protect land and sea.
There are five categories of Earthshot. Clean the air and revive the ocean. Build a lean world. correct the climate.
