The $100K Earth Prize 2026: 18-year-old named European Winner for biodegradable plastic that breaks down other microplastics

• The Earth Prize is the world’s largest environmental competition and ‘ideas incubator’ for 13-19-year-olds, empowering young people with mentorship and $100K funding 
• 18-year-old European Winner Arya Satheesh has created Eco Purge, a biodegradable plastic that also removes existing microplastics in the environment
• Seven Winners will be announced each day this week, representing the regions of North America, Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Oceania and Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East
• Each team receives $12.5K to develop and implement their idea for real life impact
• A public vote opens soon to crown the Global Winner on 29 May

GENEVA, Switzerland, 11 May - In an effort to tackle the growing crisis of microplastic pollution, 18-year-old Arya Satheesh in Ireland has been named as the European Winner of The Earth Prize 2026. Arya’s solution, Eco Purge, is a biodegradable plastic that breaks down safely, while releasing catalysts that help actually remove other existing microplastics from the environment. 

While most solutions focus on reducing plastic use, Eco Purge goes a step further by helping clean up the tiny plastic particles that are already polluting oceans, soil, and even our food and water.

Arya was inspired by one of her earlier projects monitoring water quality, which revealed a key problem: microplastics could be detected, but not removed. Wanting to solve this, Arya explored how plastics break down and developed a plant-based plastic that can carry special enzymes. By embedding these enzymes inside the material, they remain stable and are released gradually as the plastic degrades, allowing them to continue breaking down microplastics in different environments like soil, fresh water and salt water.

Now developed into a working prototype, Eco Purge has already collaborated with researchers at Irish universities UCD Dublin and ATU Letterkenny, as well as BiOrbic Bioeconomy Research Centre.

With the support, and now $12.5K of prize funding, from The Earth Prize, Arya plans to scale the solution for real-world use in products like packaging and compost bags, making it easier to tackle microplastic pollution on a larger scale.

Arya explained:

Now in its fifth year, The Earth Prize has reached over 21,000 students across 169 countries and territories. Previous winners have been featured in leading international media including Forbes, Business Insider (US and Africa), The Irish Times, and UN Today, with several teams advancing their ideas through patents and corporate partnerships.

The Earth Prize is run by The Earth Foundation, a non-profit based in Geneva, Switzerland, founded during the School Strike for Climate in 2019. At a time when climate anxiety affects a majority of young people - 59% reporting they are very or extremely worried about the environment - the Prize provides a pathway from concern to action, equipping students with the tools to develop tangible, real-world solutions.

Peter McGarry, Founder of The Earth Foundation, commented on this year’s competition:

Public voting for the Global Winner opens on Monday 18 April, the day after the final Regional Winner is announced. Cast your vote on The Earth Prize website: www.theearthprize.org/vote.