Two entrepreneurs from Bristol have won the national Everyday Engineering competition.
Launched by the Royal Academy of Engineering in partnership with Dragons' Den investor Deborah Meaden, the competition aimed to prove everyone has the potential to become an engineer.
Ms Meaden asked entrants to share their ideas for inventions that could help make daily life more sustainable. The winners, for their menstrual cup portable, cleaning and sterilising case, Kira Goode and Monica Wai are seeking investment to allow them to develop their product further.
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The pair want to make cleaning menstrual cups at public toilets and at home sterilising processes quicker, simpler and more discreet. Using a cup can reduce single-use plastic waste associated with sanitary products. In the average woman’s lifetime, each woman will send two minibuses full of menstrual product waste to landfill, and spend around £5,000 on those products, the equivalent of buying a latte every day for the next 4 years.
In their entry, Ms Goode said “At University I was trying to find a cheaper and more sustainable period product and I started using a menstrual cup and wondered why more people weren't using it. After conducting research with thousands of people it was clear the main barrier was that women were unsure how to clean and sterilise cups on the move, and it that was really off-putting. We created Eleria to make these products more convenient and save money!”
Ms Wai previously secured funding through the University of Bristol and Enterprise Nation, won an award for the best Green Startup, and secured a place on NatWest’s Entrepreneur Accelerator Hub.
Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, chief executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “It’s been brilliant to see such innovative and original ideas for sustainable inventions and to have discovered Eleria, the menstrual cup portable cleaning and sterilising case, which will help women and those who menstruate to use a menstrual cup on the move, prevent landfill from menstrual products and save money. I’m delighted to see so many people getting into the engineering mindset and coming up with creative solutions to everyday challenges.
“There has never been a more urgent need for engineering expertise to provide practical solutions that will help us to build a more sustainable future. We hope that through National Engineering Day and our This is Engineering Campaign, we can raise awareness of the vital roles that engineers play in society and encourage more young people across the nation to consider this rewarding career path.”
Amrit Chandan, chief executive and co-founder of Acerleron and judge of the Everyday Engineering competition added: “The Eleria menstrual cup portable cleaning and sterilising cup is a great example of invention which seems so obvious when it is created, solving real world problems. I could see this having a huge impact on both women and those who menstruate, and the environment, especially for those in developing markets where access to disposable sanitary product can be a huge challenge. Well done team Eleria!"
