A special-needs school just beat the country at science — with a machine that turns bottles into sports gear

The winners of South Africa's 2026 Solve for Tomorrow STEM contest were announced this week, and the top prize — R100,000 (about $5,900), all earmarked for science equipment — went to Cape Recife High School in the Eastern Cape, a special-needs school. Their invention: a device that melts recycled plastic bottles into 3D-printer filament, which the students then use to print working sports equipment for underserved local teams. The team is led by Grade 10 learner Kukhanya Mbebe. The contest drew 143 entries this year, nearly triple last year's 47; the runners-up turned waste into cheap building materials and built a solar-powered smart bin that holds five times a normal one. Every winning learner also took home a Samsung smartphone.