Meet Wileidy Feliciano-Rivera, the Puerto Rico seventh-grader who turned discarded school-cafeteria plantain peels into biodegradable farm mulch that lower weed development by as much as 53% in assessments
A Puerto Rico seventh-grader has discovered an uncommon use for one thing that will usually be thrown away after lunch: plantain peels. Wileidy Feliciano-Rivera collected discarded peels from her college cafeteria and turned them right into a biodegradable mulch designed to regulate weeds in agricultural soil. In four-week assessments, her two plantain-based mulch variations lowered weed development by 47% and 53% in contrast with uncovered soil, whereas additionally serving to retain moisture and decrease soil temperatures. Her venture has now earned her a spot among the many 30 finalists within the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Problem, in line with the Society for Science, the competitors organiser.
From cafeteria waste to an agricultural materials
Wileidy, a seventh-grade pupil at Escuela Intermedia Rafael Irizarry Rivera in Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, started the venture by two issues linked to agriculture: plastic waste and the disposal of natural materials.Plastic mulch is utilized by farmers to cowl soil, suppress weeds and assist retain moisture. However after use, plastic mulch can turn out to be agricultural waste. Wileidy explored whether or not a biodegradable materials may carry out a number of the similar features with out counting on typical plastic. Her consideration turned to plantain peels being discarded at her college. As an alternative of treating them as waste, she investigated whether or not they may function the uncooked materials for a bioplastic mulch. The ensuing venture was referred to as EcoMusa. Its title displays the usage of Musa paradisiaca, the scientific title used within the venture for the plantain supply materials.
How Wileidy made EcoMusa
The younger researcher processed the discarded plantain peels and used them to supply sheets of bioplastic. In response to Society for Science, she first chopped the peels into smaller items earlier than mixing them with water, acetic acid, glycerin and cornstarch. The combination was then heated and poured into trays, the place it was allowed to dry and kind sheets.Wileidy produced two variations of the fabric, often called EcoMusa 1 and EcoMusa 2. She then examined whether or not they may work as mulch by inserting them over soil and evaluating their efficiency with uncovered soil and industrial black plastic mulch.The experiment was designed to have a look at extra than simply whether or not weeds appeared. Wileidy additionally monitored soil moisture, soil temperature and the way the plant-based materials degraded throughout the take a look at interval.
Weed development dropped by as much as 53%
The experiment ran for 4 weeks, throughout which Wileidy tracked weed density within the completely different take a look at areas. EcoMusa 1 lowered weed development by 47%, whereas EcoMusa 2 produced a 53% discount in contrast with uncovered soil. The Society for Science reported that the 2 variations carried out comparably to the industrial black plastic mulch used within the experiment. The mulch additionally affected circumstances beneath the soil overlaying. The plantain-based supplies stored soil temperatures between one and three levels Celsius decrease than uncovered soil and helped retain moisture.These outcomes recommend that the fabric may carry out a number of the features anticipated from agricultural mulch. Nonetheless, the experiment was restricted to 4 weeks, so the findings don’t set up how the fabric would carry out over a full rising season or throughout completely different crops and farming circumstances.
A venture linking meals and plastic waste
EcoMusa brings collectively two varieties of waste which are typically handled individually. The plantain peels utilized in Wileidy’s experiment had been meals waste from her college cafeteria. Turning them right into a bioplastic mulch gave that discarded materials one other potential use.On the similar time, the venture explores an alternative choice to typical plastic mulch. As a result of EcoMusa is biodegradable, its meant function isn’t merely to switch one type of plastic with one other, however to create a fabric that may break down after use. The venture due to this fact goes past the thought of merely making a brand new materials. It examines whether or not a available waste product might be transformed into one thing helpful for agriculture.
A spot amongst 2026’s younger science finalists
Wileidy’s analysis has now taken her past her college laboratory. Her EcoMusa venture was chosen among the many 30 finalists for the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Problem. The competitors, run by the Society for Science, recognises middle-school college students conducting analysis in science, know-how, engineering and arithmetic. The finalists are scheduled to take part in Finals Week in Washington, DC, from October 23 to twenty-eight, with greater than $100,000 in prizes accessible.For Wileidy, the venture started with a easy remark about materials being discarded at college. She turned these peels right into a analysis query after which examined whether or not the ensuing materials may do a helpful job in agriculture.
What the experiment exhibits
EcoMusa isn’t but proof that plantain-peel mulch can change industrial agricultural plastic on a big scale. Extra analysis can be wanted to find out its sturdiness, degradation charge, efficiency throughout completely different environments and suitability for various crops. However Wileidy’s four-week experiment produced measurable outcomes. Her two mulch variations lowered weed development by as much as 53%, whereas additionally serving to retain soil moisture and average soil temperature.The venture demonstrates how an on a regular basis waste product can turn out to be the start line for a scientific experiment. What started as discarded plantain peels from a Puerto Rico college cafeteria has turn out to be a biodegradable agricultural materials that Wileidy is now testing as a attainable solution to handle weeds whereas addressing waste.
