PrepaTec student awarded for his plastic recycling prototype in London

Ángel González has been recognized for his prototype plastic sorter and filament maker for 3D printers at the Innovation World Student Expo (iWISE) in London.

The student from PrepaTec Eugenio Garza Sada won a gold medal in STEM projects and first place in Best Performer, in the STEM-Engineering category, at the world’s most renowned science fair for young people between the ages of 10 and 24.

“It was awesome to see other people’s ideas. It was a wake-up call for me; when my friends ask me what motivated me to do all this, I always tell them it was curiosity to see the ingenuity of others,” explains the 17-year-old.

From sorting to filament making

Ángel, along with two of his classmates and his mentor professor, came up with the idea for the science project in middle school.

He said that it started as a school project for the school fair, which they continued to show at exhibitions when they saw how interested the attendees were.

“The project itself is divided into two parts. The first is a plastic sorter that, due to size limitations, sorts three types of plastics.

“In my opinion, the filament maker, which is the second component, is the most interesting and eye-catching. The main tests were with 2.5-liter Coke bottles - the best for producing filament,” he said.

“Never stay in your comfort zone because you can always achieve more.”

This prototype reuses plastic to convert it into filament, a material used in 3D printing, which he has already used to create various products such as cake molds and keychains.

The project was presented during a fair at the UANL Faculty of Engineering and Mechanics (FIME), then at an expo in Sonora, and finally, as high school students, in London.

Changing his perspective

After presenting the project in different forums, Ángel’s vision changed and now he is looking to formalize the project further, and even sees the possibility of starting a company.

“It blew my mind; when I was younger, I created something that people loved, and I didn’t quite know how to handle it. I didn’t quite process it until I got to FIME and saw all the interested people.

“It changed me in such a way that I realized that I hadn’t been pushing myself. When I saw that something worked, I’d say, ‘I’m happy with that.’ After everything I’ve been through, I said, ‘I can’t keep going on like that.’” he explained.

Ángel encourages young people to maintain their enthusiasm in their activities.

“I would like to tell them never to stay in their comfort zone because they can always achieve more,” he said.

iWISE

iWISE is a platform where children, teenagers and young adults can showcase their creativity and scientific skills.

Participants went through an online preliminary round, in which they presented their project to a panel of judges via Zoom to reach the final stage, which took place at the end of August in London.

Representatives from places such as Georgia, the United States, Pakistan, Afghanistan, North Macedonia, Zimbabwe, and Ghana participated in this edition.

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