Turkish student wins online vote for Google science award

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkish high school student Elif Bilgin’s project aims to make bioplastic out of discarded banana peels, in order to decrease the use of traditional petroleum-based plastic.

Turkish high school student Elif Bilgin has been announced as the winner of the Voter’s Choice Award for the Google Science Fair for a recent project to convert banana peels into plastic, according to the tech giant’s website. 

Bilgin’s project aims to make bioplastic out of discarded banana peels, in order to decrease the use of traditional petroleum-based plastic. The process, if used, could decrease pollution with the prevention of the use plastic based on petroleum derivatives. 

The student worked on her plans for two years to finalize the project, according to a report released on the website. If the process becomes widespread, banana peels could be used in making cosmetic prosthetics, or even electrical insulation for cables. 

Bilgin, a 16-year-old high school student in Istanbul, was previously awarded the Science in Action prize in June for her banana-peel project, earning herself a reward of $50,000. 

The Voter Choice Award for the Google Science Fair is presented on the basis of popular votes, with users worldwide selecting their favorite choices from among the contestants.

The Grand Prize winner will be announced after the final conference at Google’s headquarters on September 23rd, when each of the finalists will present their projects to an international panel of judges.

The Google Science Fair is an online science competition, open to students between the ages of 13 and 18 from around the world.