Some types of waste are so deeply embedded in everyday life that they become almost invisible. Packaging, wrappers, containers and single-use products. Plastic is present in thousands of consumer decisions, yet it is rarely translated into a simple figure that helps people understand its true impact. This was the starting hypothesis of the team from IES Francisco de Quevedo in Madrid, winner of first prize in the second edition of the Spanish Eco-Digithon with the PlastiScore Verified project.
The initiative, promoted by FPEmpresa and Innogestiona Ambiental within the framework of the European ENNEPlus project, is an educational marathon aimed at Vocational Education and Training institutions in which students design digital and technological prototypes to respond to real environmental and social challenges. Following a previous edition held in Extremadura, the challenge encourages solutions aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda and based on a participatory and multidisciplinary approach.
It was within this context that PlastiScore Verified was created: a tool designed to measure and make the impact of plastic visible through its own index, the PlastiScore, inspired by indicators that are easy for consumers to recognise and understand. The idea is simple in concept but ambitious in scope: to enable anyone to identify the plastic impact associated with a product, in the same way that other consumer ratings or labels are interpreted today.
“The main objective of our project is to objectively quantify the volume of plastic we generate. We believe this is necessary because, until now, nobody had approached the issue in this way,” explains the winning team.
Making an everyday problem measurable
PlastiScore Verified is rooted in a familiar reality. One of the team members works in the field of urban waste management, which made it possible to bring into the classroom a problem observed on a daily basis: the huge volume of plastic generated and the difficulty of translating that impact into clear information for consumers, institutions and companies.
The project is based on the idea that a product may perform positively in some areas while at the same time generating a negative impact because of the amount or type of plastic associated with its packaging. To make this visible, the system translates that information into its own rating scale, based on data analysis and comparison with other similar cases or reference points, helping users to better understand the resulting score.
The proposal also explores the use of technologies such as IPv6 to address the large-scale identification of products on the market, opening the door to a scalable tool connected to broader digital environments.
Behind the project is a diverse and multidisciplinary team whose members contribute complementary perspectives in areas such as negotiation, chemistry and laboratory work, computational logic, user experience, graphic design and business administration. This combination made it possible to approach the challenge from different angles, from developing the algorithm to the visual presentation of the tool and its potential evolution into a platform.
The work was developed using the team’s own methodology, known as XPR (Xtreme Programming en Recreo), based on an iterative, collaborative and creative process. For the team, taking part in the Eco-Digithon was an experience defined by high standards, learning and the challenge of turning an environmental concern into a concrete proposal. They also highlight hope and altruism, two ideas closely connected to the ultimate objective of PlastiScore Verified: creating a useful tool to address one of today’s major environmental challenges.
The first prize provides new momentum to continue exploring the project’s potential. The award includes €1,000 in equipment for the school, a €250 gift card for the coordinating teacher and the local community representative, as well as the opportunity to take part in the 10th edition of the Social Hackathon Umbria, opening up a new opportunity to further develop and share the proposal in an international setting.
Beyond the award itself, the team is already considering how to bring the idea into a real-world environment and make it available to different stakeholders: “We want to generate impact through a platform that allows public institutions to integrate this type of technology. For private companies, the idea is to offer a B2B model through which they can access this type of licence,” they explain.
PlastiScore Verified demonstrates how Vocational Education and Training can become a space for applied innovation, capable of bringing together technology, sustainability and business vision to respond to real-world problems. From an idea born in the classroom, the IES Francisco de Quevedo team has developed a solution that aims to make the impact of plastic no longer invisible, but something that can be measured, compared and understood.
