To offer a viable solution against plastic pollution, a team of aspiring engineers from the Technological Institute of the Philippines (T.I.P.) Quezon City came up with an idea to make cutlery “edible.”

Inspired by eco-friendly materials already being produced in other countries, six students collectively known as Team “Edgetec,” submitted a research paper exploring the possibility of turning flour into consumable utensils that could potentially replace flatware made of single-use plastics.

The team worked on the project for two months and submitted it for competition at the 2023 Swiss Innovation Prize last September.

The proposal won third place in the 2023 Swiss Innovation Prize under the "Sustainability" category.

It was adjudged Top 3 in the “Sustainability” category by a panel of six judges out of 150 entries from students and professionals nationwide.

The Embassy of Switzerland in the Philippines launched and organized the competition in partnership with the Swiss Cultural Fund and the Swiss Chamber of Commerce to support “new ideas that have the potential to drive economic growth and improve society.”

Sustainable solution

Stanley del Rosario, the team leader and a fourth-year civil engineering major, said the group focused on trying to “reduce plastic waste” upon learning of its terrible impact on the environment.

The pollution, he noted, is linked to several diseases and deaths of humans and marine biodiversity.

“With a simple product like ‘edible cutleries,’ we believe it can be a sustainable solution to lessen our need for single-use plastics,” del Rosario said. “It won’t cause a problem to the community, especially for marine animals, because even if they ingest it, it is safe,” he added.

Third-year Electronics Engineering students Elyza Marielle Camiguing and Amiel Salvania; Second-year Computer Engineering students Emmanuelle Dave Santos and Faron Jabez Nonan, and Fourth Year Civil Engineering student John Paul Fernandez also worked on the project.

‘Edible Cutleries’ project

The paper titled “Edible Cutleries with Biodegradable Packaging as an Alternative to Single-Used Plastics” was part of their coursework for their Tech 101 Engineering and Entrepreneurship class under Assistant Professor James Paul Menina from the College of Business Education.

Del Rosario said one of their goals in pursuing the topic is to raise awareness of the harmful effects of plastic pollution.

Citing data from Plastic Bank, the team noted that the Philippines is the leading contributor of plastics in the ocean despite not being its biggest producer.

“We don’t have the discipline to dispose and segregate our plastic products properly,” he said. “The Philippines doesn’t [even] have a strong and concrete Waste Management Plan. All these things need to be addressed because it is putting our future generations in danger,” he added.

Del Rosario and Camiguing represented T.I.P. Quezon City during the final stages of the pitching competition held in November. They accepted a trophy and a P30,000 cash prize during the awards ceremony.