Winner DIP student plastics design competition announced

After what the judges described as a very, very difficult decision process, a student from Brunel university ultimately came through in the 2021 Design Innovation in Plastics competition, with a product which will help reduce pesticide spray drift.

Pol Blanch designed his product to help people in the developing world, after being inspired by his interest in agriculture and the rural issue of how to apply pesticides safely to vital crops.

The product, ‘D-Shield’, is a semi-translucent, foldable shield that minimises spray drift, blocking pesticides from drifting during application.  The shield, made from low density, heat resistant polypropylene, is designed to be carried by individuals using backpack sprayers, as is often the case in developing countries, where plots are smaller and the expense of agricultural machinery is prohibitive.

According to the judges, D-Shield was both outstanding in its design and application, and addresses a fundamental problem in the environment, in line with the competition’s 2021 theme of ‘Design for a Natural World’.

“Pol applied design thinking and conducted extensive research to find a cost-effective solution to a universal problem that threatens both our society and wildlife across the world,” chairman of judges, Richard Brown, said. “His research recognises the scale of the problem and how pesticide overspray damages the natural environment.  His product is well designed, and we believe that with some refinement, it is good enough to be commercialised.”

Taking part in the DIP competition was an excellent learning process, said Pol Blanch said: “The Design Innovation in Plastics competition has helped instil the value of sustainable design and I have gained skills in polymer-based product design along with a good understanding of its suitable manufacturing processes.  It has been really rewarding to take a disposable product category and create a reusable solution - this is a trend I would love to continue in my future career.”

The top prize consists of a trophy and £1,000; a placement with a DIP sponsor and an invitation to the Lord Mayor’s Banquet as a guest of the Worshipful Company of Horners.

In second place was Christopher Farrell, from Technological University Dublin, who designed ‘ClearWater’, a hand-held, user-friendly water quality device to test for the presence of nitrates, phosphates and sulphates in open water.  Christopher used a combination of polypropylene, polycarbonate and silicone rubber in the making of his product, to give it good barrier qualities, chemical resistivity and resistance to weathering.

In third came Finlay McEwan, (Glasgow School of Art) with Equipoise, a reusable plastic gas canister for outdoor cooking, with a cleverly designed stand for stability on rough terrain. The gas canister for his product is made of Ultem PEI plastic for its very high strength and stability, while the stand uses polycarbonate for its high strength and impact resistance.

Highly commended prizes go to Euan Gibson-Smith – Glasgow School of Art, Pradip Gurung – Brunel University, and Andrei Petrar - London South Bank University.

Richard Brown offered congratulations to all the finalists and emphasised the exceptionally high standard of the designs and presentations this year.  “It was clear they had all researched their solutions to the brief very thoroughly.  They are a very talented group, and it made the task of selecting the winner very challenging!” he said.

DIP is supported by the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining, and the Worshipful Company of Horners, and headline sponsored by polymers manufacturer, Covestro.  DIP is unique in that it offers an industry placement to all six finalists with one of the competition sponsors, Brightworks, Innovate Product Design, PDD and RJG Technologies, as well as cash prizes.