Paper Waste Recycling Projects
Student-Created Program 'EcoCycle' Shows Promising Structure
Colin Smith — February 11, 2026
A team of Grade 12 STEM students from Colegio de San Juan de Letran Manila developed EcoCycle, a closed loop circular economy model that converts paper waste into new school supplies and won the global championship at an international innovation competition hosted by the University of Leeds. The student team, identified as Lander Adrian Amaya, Kylie‑Nicole Daigdigan, Tasya Arabela Palon, and Elijah Leigh Tan, presented EcoCycle as a school‑scale system designed to collect, process, and remanufacture paper waste with the objective of recycling at least 500 kilograms annually.
EcoCycle’s process is summarized as sell, collect, recycle, create, and sell again, which the students framed as a replicable model for educational institutions seeking to reduce waste and produce low‑cost supplies for school communities. The project was formally recognized by the school administration and positioned as both a pedagogical exercise in sustainability and a prototype for broader adoption, with documentation emphasizing community engagement, material flows, and potential scalability.
