The British Council announced the final winners of its #DestinationZero challenge: Aysel Abasova from Turkey, Joseph Kagabo from Rwanda, and Güllü Hüseyn from Azerbaijan on 4 October 2021.
Watch the video above to find out their winning innovations!
The innivations aim to make a difference in addressing climate change negative impacts by recycling plastic, inventing energy efficient devices and biodegradable packaging solution. Their ideas stood out among 230 submissions from 43 countries this year.
#DestinationZero challenge encourages participants to share climate innovation and showcase youth-led initiative that help people, communities, economies, and the environment reduce the impacts of climate change or adapt and build resilience to climate change, with demonstrated evidence of making a difference in addressing climate change negative impacts. Five expert mentors supported them to prototype their idea or take it to the next level.
The three winning innovations
Top 1: Aysel Abasova, aged 27, Turkey
Aysel explains, 'plastic is recycled by the bin and the food is recycled by the people.’ She is recycling single-use plastic waste generated in cities to create food waste composting bins. Her plan is to use the single-use High-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics to create her Bokashi bins. She will source the plastic from rubbish collection agencies before it is sent to landfill. Bokashi bin customers will be able to compost food in just 15 days, thanks to a special yeast, without worrying about smell or insects.
Top 2: Güllü Huseynli, aged 30, Azerbaijan
Güllü is producing energy efficient, temperature regulating wall and ceiling panels. Her Climasel panels are made from phase change material (PCM). On a hot day these panels absorb the heat in a room and decrease the temperature. They then release the heat at night, when the temperature drops.
Air-conditioning is a major contributor to energy consumption. Güllü's panels reduce the use of energy consumption for air conditioning by 25 percent.
Top 3: Joseph Kagabo, aged 24, Rwanda
Joseph created CareMe Bioplastics, which produces a plastic-like packaging solution that is biodegradable within 45 days. He aims to replace harmful, fossil fuel-based plastics with his reliable and environmentally friendly alternative.
The packaging material is suitable for packing liquid products. It is safe to feed to livestock after use as it is primarily made from starch and fibres.
