Two University of Birmingham students have won an international award for an idea that gives unwanted potatoes an unexpectedly glamorous second career as packaging.
The Potastic project, developed by Rioana Mano Thankaraj and Ishwari Mohod through Enactus Birmingham, uses surplus potatoes to create eco-friendly mailing material.
The team won the Most Potential award at the 2026 U21 RISE sustainability awards. With millions of tonnes of potatoes wasted in the UK each year, the project is exploring whether part of that waste stream can replace more resource-intensive packaging materials.
It is a pleasing reminder that the occasionally begins with looking at a potato and refusing to accept that chips are its only career option.