Alexandre Allard and Danny Luong, Canada
The winners’ research on biodegradation of the plastic Polysterene won them the prize 2010.
“Every year more and more chemical debris is introduced in the environment and water bodies around the world. Research has shown these chemicals can release toxics into the water, they can be harmful for the environment, and deadly to life in water. Much of the debris in the world’s waterways are plastics which is used for fast food containers, disposable cups, and packing material for example. To date, there is no natural solution to safely take care of these harmful plastics. The winning project created a novel approach to break-down these plastics using micro-organisms and enzymes that are cost effective, and readily available. This method could greatly reduce the amount of plastics that end up in the world’s waters,” said the International Jury in its citation.
“Expanded Polystyrine (EPS) is a great threat to the environment since it contributes to the spread of toxins such as styrene and bisphenol A into our waters. We hope that our method will be widely used and consequently increase the water quality in the world,” said the winners after receiving the prize.
