Young innovators lead the way in climate solutions
With unhygienic public toilets being a major problem in Dhaka,
three young women have come up with an innovative solution to protect users,
especially women, from health hazards such as infection transmission.
The team,
named Neo Kagoj, has produced a tissue-paper-like product made from recycled
paper, which can be used in public toilets and safely flushed afterwards due to
its high water absorbency.
They have named the product "Hygie Guard".
For this
idea, Neo Kagoj has won the top prize at the grand finale of the Climate
Justice Idea Competition 2025, an initiative of The Daily Star and ActionAid
Bangladesh.
The finale
was held at The Daily Star Centre yesterday, where nine youth teams presented
their ideas to address the impacts of climate change, protect the environment,
and improve lives.
The ideas
included transforming waste into energy and purifying contaminated water in
adverse situations such as salinity or floods.
The nine
teams competed in three categories -- Green Business, Water Rights, and Energy
Transition.
Neo Kagoj
won the top prize in the Green Business category.
Team
Sustyre won the first runner-up prize in the same category for the idea of
producing recyclable footwear soles from waste tyres to reduce wastage, while
Econappy became second runner-up for innovating biodegradable, pocket-friendly
baby diapers.
In the
Water Rights category, Projonmo bagged the top prize for developing an
affordable water purifier. Aqua Rights was first runner-up for presenting the
idea of a solar-powered filtration machine to mitigate freshwater scarcity in
coastal areas affected by salinity, and Ecohydra became second runner-up with
their idea of a portable water purifier.
In the
Energy Transition category, team Enermical won the top prize for its idea of
producing a "hybrid fuel" by blending a liquid substance extracted
from plastic waste with diesel. Team Sonali Urja was first runner-up for an
app-based system to collect farm waste from farmers to produce electricity,
while Trendsetters became second runner-up for their idea of generating
electricity from Dhaka's garbage using solar power.
Speaking
at the event, Farah Kabir, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh, urged the
corporate sector to come forward and implement the amazing ideas.
While
climate change has been affecting countries all across the globe, funding to
mitigate the challenges remains inadequate, she said.
In his
speech, The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam said there is no way
for Bangladesh to progress without innovation.
He said
while climate change is a massive global challenge, Bangladesh has also been
facing numerous other problems like high population and limited land.
Besides,
inefficiency is a major problem, which is like a "disease", he added.
Lauding
the young participants for their innovative ideas and solutions to different
issues, he said The Daily Star will continue to promote and support these ideas
to help turn them into reality. "Even if one, two, or three of these ideas
succeed, they can bring a huge change," he added.
The finale
marked the conclusion of the fourth edition of the Climate Justice Idea
Competition, which was launched in 2022 under the campaign "Our Planet,
Our Responsibility".
This year,
the competition received 271 ideas across the three categories.
Following
a rigorous selection process, a panel of six selectors shortlisted nine
finalist teams, who then received mentorship from experts before presenting
their ideas at the grand finale.