Princeton High’s Food Waste Project Is Now A National Finalist

PRINCETON, NJ — In February we told you about this amazing project Princeton High School students were working on, that looks to combat food waste. Now, they have been named among 10 national finalists in the 12th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest.

The contest challenges students in grades 6-12 to use STEM skills to address local issues and inspire change in their communities.

PHS students came up with a project to address food waste and combat greenhouse gas emissions in local landfills, by using the black soldier fly to bioremediate food waste into useable products, like animal feed and soap. Read here: Princeton High Students Use Bugs To Combat Food Waste, Make Soap

The group has won $50,000 for their project. Needless to say, the students are excited.

"I love all the team and am glad to see our creative efforts and dedication pay off. Through collaborating on our knowledge and tackling this problem with technology, I can’t wait to see where we go from here," junior Ngan Le said.

The project began in late 2019 and early 2020 when Sharon Eastburn, a junior, was working on a project to address food waste. Sharon and fellow student Matthew Livingston were trying to find different ways to address the issue when they discovered that black soldier fly larvae were able to break down organic waste.

"I’m really proud of all the work everyone’s put forward and we made an incredible video, and this work definitely paid off since we became national finalists," Livingston said.

Students created a video to introduce their project, which they’ve named “The Bug That Brings Us Together.” See it here:

Grade 11 student Katherine Monroe is "thrilled” with the success they’ve achieved. “I’m especially proud of and impressed with the hard work everyone put into the soap-making and the video. I’m really excited to see what we can do next," Monroe said.

Ann Woo, Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship, Samsung Electronics America said students that participated in this program have been “fearless” as they continue to work on tackling issues like sustainability and accessibility through innovative and creative solutions

“From coast to coast, these students have taken charge of their future and we’re proud to see how they have creatively bridged STEM and social impact,” Woo said. “We’re thankful to stand with and support another class of Solve for Tomorrow teachers and students as they set out to make an impact in their own - communities and the world”

Teacher Mark Eastburn of Princeton High School's research program is guiding students in the project.

The next step for the group is to pitch their project before a panel of judges on April 25 in New York City. Le, Livingston, and George Kopf are the pitch team, Eastburn said.

The local community can help the students win an additional $10,000 as Community Choice winners by voting online.

To vote for this project, watch the student-created videos on the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow website and cast your vote. Voting is permitted once a day until 11:59 p.m. ET, April 23.

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