The graduation project, "Smart Automated Plastic Recycle System (SAPRS)," has won the "Sustainability & Localization Award" at the "Egypt Makes 2026" competition. The project focuses on recycling plastic waste to produce sustainable interlocking paving blocks.
A team from the Faculty of Engineering at Assiut University—supported by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology—successfully designed and manufactured a smart machine that converts plastic waste into high-durability interlocking tiles. The project, developed for the 2025–2026 academic year, integrates artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.
Named "Eco Lock," the project is an outcome of the "Egypt Makes" (Misr Tasna') alliance, backed by the "My Project, My Beginning" (Mashrou'i Bidayati) initiative. It aims to recycle plastic waste into sustainable construction materials, thereby helping to reduce pollution and maximize resource utilization.
Preliminary tests have demonstrated that the interlocking tiles—made from recycled plastic—can withstand compressive loads of up to 8 tons, confirming their efficiency and suitability for a wide range of applications.
The project was developed by the following graduates:
Eng. Pavly Magdy Zakher
Eng. Walid Khaled Mustafa
Eng. George Raef Sami
Eng. Mira Tharwat Girgis
Eng. Samuel Raafat Kamal
Eng. Mina Habib Bakhit
Eng. Yustina Naseef Samir
Eng. Anton Natai Tawfiq
Eng. Bishoy Bahaa Botros
Eng. Fadi Mamdouh El-Gamil
Eng. Mohamed Omar Badri Bishoy Rifaat Methenni
Eng. Mostafa Hammam Hassan
Eng. Bahaa Romani Ayoub
Eng. Nader Samir Mahawad
The project was supervised by Prof. Ahmed Saad Ali, Dr. Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Dr. Abdullah Farraj Abdel Rahim, with Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Attia serving as the team’s advisor.
For his part, Prof. Khaled Salah, Dean of the Faculty, congratulated the graduates who developed the project, as well as their supervisors, on receiving this award. He noted that the achievement reflects the high quality of the educational process at the Faculty, as well as the capabilities and skills of its students and graduates. He also extended his gratitude to the university administration—led by the University President, Prof. Ahmed Abdel Mawla—for his support of the educational process and for encouraging student participation in various local and international forums and competitions.
