2019-2020

A small group of our Y9 students went an initial visit to the Unilever site in November 2019 here they toured the facility and were introduced to the various departments that allow the company to operate, for example, formulation departments who worked on creating the general formulation and initial concept behind the products, Digital R&D (research and development)  who focus on analyzing consumer trends to be used in developing products, packaging and advertising campaigns, and upscaling who aim to understand the most effective way to take a product from lab production (prototype) to batch production and where possible continuous production.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the majority of the project was undertaken online and any lab work was performed while in school bubbles (including appropriate safety measures to prevent transmission) . The project was able to place 2nd in the final contest.

The project was aimed at reducing plastic waste and reducing product waste when people use shampoo, to do this the product was encapsulated in a polymer film made from seaweed extract which was fully biodegradable, these would hold enough shampoo for one use and would come in a bamboo container suitable for a loop delivery system meaning the entire product line would be free of waste packaging. The product also looked into combatting waste in LIC (Lower income countries) where shampoo is often bought in sachets which are made of a plastic coated metal, which means they can not be recycled or biodegraded, Instead the product would be purchasable for a lower price in these countries and available in smaller and single sizes which would allow for the business modal to stay the same and become more environmentally friendly, regardless of  waste management infrastructure as the capsules where nontoxic and are considered safe for consumption once the shampoo is removed. 

Students Joe and Sofia have been shortlisted to compete in the UK Water Prize.  The award is an annual prize, held by CIWEM (Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management), in partnership with Stockholm International Water Institute. It’s designed to inspire students to solve some of the world’s biggest water-related environmental challenges.  

The two combined their respective projects to create an innovative idea which they’ve called ‘hydro-filtricity’, which combats water pollution from household waste water. ‘Hydro-filtricity’ consists of a water turbine above five pipes containing activated charcoal filters which can be attached to household water outlets.

This waste water travels downwards into the box and is evenly distributed by the water turbine into the filters, while generating small amounts of electricity.

It combats micro-plastic pollution, which is becoming a global hazard to health, having been detected in most samples of bottled water, tap water, rivers, lakes and oceans, as well as fish which we and other animals consume.

The two Year 11 students presented their project over Zoom, to a panel of three expert judges.