Meet Wileidy Feliciano-Rivera, seventh-grader whose plantain mulch cut weeds 53%
Seventh-grader Wileidy Feliciano-Rivera developed a biodegradable mulch from discarded plantain peels that significantly reduces weed growth. Her project, EcoMusa, is a finalist in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge.
Why it matters
This innovation offers a sustainable, low-cost alternative to plastic agricultural mulch, addressing both food waste and plastic pollution.
A Puerto Rico seventh-grader has found an unusual use for something that would normally be thrown away after lunch: plantain peels. Wileidy Feliciano-Rivera collected discarded peels from her school cafeteria and turned them into a biodegradable mulch designed to control weeds in agricultural soil. In four-week tests, her two plantain-based mulch versions reduced weed growth by 47% and 53% compared with uncovered soil, while also helping retain moisture and lower soil temperatures. Her project has now earned her a place among the 30 finalists in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, according to the Society for Science, the competition organiser.From cafeteria waste to an agricultural materialWileidy, a seventh-grade student at Escuela Intermedia Rafael Irizarry Rivera in Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, began the project by looking at two problems connected to agriculture: plastic waste and the disposal of organic material.Plastic mulch is used by farmers to cover soil, suppress weeds…
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