Students Find Way to Shorten Landfill Life of Plastics

Students find a way to make millions of tons of plastics in landfills biodegrade more quickly.

Scientists estimate that the millions of tons of plastics buried in landfills can take hundreds of years to decompose. Some student entrepreneurs from Brigham Young University in Utah have developed and patented an eco-friendly product that, when sprayed on plastics as they enter landfills, will make the plastics biodegrade in three years or less.

The students’ company — Inviroment LLC — recently won $100,000 in the National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition, a grant program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs and scientists to tackle some of the greatest challenges facing the United States.

Daniel Poneman, acting secretary at the Department of Energy, is shown here (at far left) presenting the regional winners’ check to the Inviroment team. Inviroment will join other regional champions for the national competition, to be held in Washington June 11–12, 2013.

The competition, launched in 2011, is designed to build regional networks of student-focused business creation contests across the country. It is part of the Obama administration’s Startup America initiative to inspire and promote entrepreneurship.

Read more about the U.S. Department of Energy's National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition and the Obama White House Startup America initiative. See the video here for an explanation of Inviroment LLC’s product.