Dublin: An Indian student from Letterkenny has won international recognition after securing a major global environmental sustainability award for developing an innovative solution to tackle microplastic pollution.
Arya Satheesh, a 18-year-old Leaving Certificate student at Loreto Secondary School, has been named one of the regional winners of the prestigious The Earth Prize 2026 for students aged between 13 and 19.
Arya earned the honour after developing “Eco Purge”, a biodegradable plastic technology designed to break down existing microplastics in the environment without causing additional harm.
Selected as one of seven regional winners in Europe from more than 4,000 global entries, Arya will receive approximately €12,000 from the competition’s $100,000 prize fund.
Innovative Solution to Microplastic Pollution
Arya’s award-winning project, titled “Eco Purge: Biodegradable Plastic that Breaks Down Microplastics Using Enzymes,” was entered in the Biological and Ecological Sciences category.
The innovation involves embedding special enzymes within plant-based biodegradable plastics. As the material decomposes, the enzymes are released and begin breaking down harmful microplastics already present in oceans, soil, food systems and drinking water.
Unlike many existing approaches that focus only on reducing plastic usage, Eco Purge aims to actively eliminate microplastics that already pollute the environment.
Speaking after the win, Arya described the achievement as “a dream come true” and said she hopes the project will evolve into a large-scale global solution.
“This is just the beginning. My dream is to develop it into a scalable solution that creates real change in the world,” Arya said.
From Kerala to International Recognition
Born in Kerala, Arya moved to Ireland with her family while studying in fourth grade. She said her interest in science grew significantly during her Transition Year studies.
“Being able to learn science practically instead of only through textbooks changed my life,” she said.
Arya first became aware of the seriousness of microplastic pollution while working on an earlier water-quality research project. Realising that microplastics could be detected but not effectively removed inspired her to pursue further research.
She later developed a method to stably integrate enzymes into biodegradable plant-based plastics, creating the foundation for Eco Purge.
Research Interest from Universities
According to reports, researchers at University of California San Diego and Atlantic Technological University have already begun exploring the model developed by Arya.
Arya hopes to use the Earth Prize funding to develop practical products such as eco-friendly packaging materials and compost bags capable of reducing large-scale microplastic pollution.
She also highlighted the urgency of the issue, noting that only around nine percent of the approximately 450 million tonnes of plastic produced globally each year is recycled.
Future Plans
Arya plans to pursue higher studies in biotechnology and hopes to apply to institutions including Trinity College Dublin in the future.
The Earth Prize competition is organised by The Earth Foundation, a non-profit organisation established following the 2019 global School Strike for Climate movement. The global winner of the competition is expected to be announced later this month.
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