Plastic Cleaning Robot Wins Youth Hackathon in Burgas

A project for a robot that cleans plastic and oil from the ocean surface won the Burgas Youth Hackathon on how to make Burgas a greener city on Wednesday.

The event, organized by BTA, is held within the framework of the Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project, which the news agency implements with the support of the European Commission. The opening was attended by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev and Burgas Free University Rector Prof Milen Baltov.

The jury awarded the first place to the team from the High School for the Study of Romance Languages in the city. The team presented a project for a robot that cleans oil, plastic and various pesticides from the world's oceans, and pointed out that if the pollution continues at the same pace there will be more waste than life in the oceans after 30 years, which is a prerequisite for an eco-catastrophe. They stressed that the robot is only a short-term solution, functioning like a vacuum cleaner, which goes over the surface of the ocean and cleans it. "The long-term solution is to integrate hydrogen fuel into shipbuilding, which converts chemical energy into electricity, thus preventing environmental pollution," the high school team emphasised.

The second place was awarded to the team from the High School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics for their project called Green Tires, aiming to replace old cars with electric cars. "We offer an eco-alternative, as for example in exchange for a scrap car, we provide a coupon for the purchase of an electric car," the team explained their idea.

In third place, the jury placed a project for a mobile application called Green Burgas, through which every resident of the city can share about their daily habits regarding the protection of the environment. The users of the application can collect points, against which they then receive vouchers, with which they win prizes from innovative businesses with the aim of reducing waste and carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

All participants received medals from the mint of the Bulgarian National Bank for the 125th anniversary of BTA from Kiril Valchev. The winners will take part in the cross-border conference of the Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project, which will take place in Edirne, Turkiye in 2025.

/MY/