>>Elif Bilgin: Hello.
I'm Elif Bilgin and I'm 16 years old.
I grew up in Istanbul, Turkey -- I'm sorry.
Wait one minute.
I grew up in Istanbul, Turkey, a beautiful
city where Europe meets Asia along the banks
of the Bosphorus.
Growing up in a big city meant that I faced
environmental problems like pollution almost
every day.
Because of this, I became incredibly passionate
about the environment.
The Bosphorus, you can see rubbish, which
is mostly plastic floating in the water almost
every day.
The Bosphorus is such a beautiful place when
you look at it from afar, and I was really
upset by the fact that this beauty faded as
you came in closer to the view.
It was while searching for a solution for
this problem that I learned about petroleum-based
plastics which are one of today's main pollutants.
My family had a major -- My family had a major
influence in developing my passion for science.
I started to read and write at the age of
four, which meant that my parents had to put
in extra effort to keep me busy as a child
who loved asking questions about anything
and everything she saw.
So they bought me science books about famous
inventions and scientists.
My sister who is a med student -- Could you
go back a slide?
I didn't click it.
Sorry.
My sister, who is a med student, also loves
doing scientific research and has been a huge
role model for me.
Apart from my family, Marie Curie has been
a major influence in developing my passion
for science as well.
She has been a great inspiration and admiration
of mine, being a female scientist who devoted
her life to her study of radioactivity, challenging
gender norms along the way.
She is the best role model for aspiring young
female scientists such as myself.
Anyway -- sorry.
During my research on the topic of pollution,
I was shocked to find out that the United
Nations environment program estimated in 2006
that every square mile of the ocean contains
46,000 pieces of floating plastic.
I kept thinking about the view of the Bosphorus,
and I wanted to investigate an alternative.
It was then I came across a possible solution:
Bioplastics.
Bioplastics are derived from renewable sources,
and they are therefore better for the environment
and are actually cheaper to make.
Traditionally, you will find them made out
of potatoes because of the starch in them.
I asked myself why use potatoes that we eat
anyway when perhaps a waste material could
be used instead?
So the aim of my project became to see if
I could plastic out of organic waste material.
The banana peel was the perfect candidate
because of the starch in them.
Also, it is something that we throw it away
almost every day.
For example, in Thailand, 200 tons of banana
peels are thrown away daily, and this number
increases each year.
Just think about how many banana peels you
have ever thrown out, and little do we know,
they could be put to much better use.
I was excited to start experimenting, and
I developed my project over two years.
For the method to work, I had to seek out
equal size bananas with no bruises, and they
all had to be of the same official color index.
The process of turning the peel into plastic
includes dipping the peel in a solution before
boiling and pureeing them.
Afterwards, some chemicals are added to this
puree to form a paste, and then this paste
is transferred into a Petri dish and baked.
The process didn't always go as planned, such
as the ovens in my school didn't reach the
right temperature, so on the weekends I would
take my entire equipment home and turn my
parents' kitchen upside-down into my very
own science lab.
During the two years of experimentation, I
had 12 attempts at making the plastic -- Could
you go back a slide?
I had 12 attempts at making the plastic, and
all but the last two failed.
At one point I almost quit, but I reminded
myself of my motto taken from the wise words
of Bob Marley: Get up, stand up, and don't
give up the fight.
It's advocated being ambitious persevere when
it comes to tackling obstacles.
On the 11th and 12th trials, finally success.
This has to be the best moment as I knew that
my plastic could have huge potential.
The method I designed is so simple and they
type of plastic I've created could be applied
to many uses, such as cosmetic prosthetics
and the electrical insulation of cables, of
which I have recently been in the early stages
of trialing.
I am excited about the future and developing
my plastic further.
I would love one day to see everyone using
my bioplastic.
And I have real hope that our beautiful planet
will be spared from the consequences of production
of plastic with petroleum derivatives.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
