Comet Bay College young guns take out youth prize in WA Innovators of the Year Awards

Detailed summary

Two inventive teenagers from Rockingham have come up with patent-pending technology to recycle aluminium — earning themselves a State award for innovation.

Two inventive teenagers from Rockingham have come up with patent-pending technology to recycle aluminium — earning themselves a prestigious State award for innovation.

Comet Bay College Year 10 students Logan Tolic and Natalie Coutinho developed their idea after attending a regional youth event, GOSHackathon, which challenges kids to come up with solutions to real-world problems.

The co-founders of Agni Renewables have been named joint winners — along with a student from Hale School — of the 2026 Young Innovators Award.

The students devised a method to sustainably recover valuable aluminium from discarded electronics.

GOSHackathon organiser Michelle Wong said their success showed just what a little extra mentoring support could do for students from regional areas.

She said many students who attended the problem-solving events were neurodivergent, so her aim was to give them a chance to show what they could do in a non-traditional environment.

“We provide this really great safe space for them,” she said. “We challenge them in the right ways, and then let them soar.

“It’s also about raising the aspirations of all young people in those regions that they can use innovation to create future pathways for themselves.

“We keep providing them with opportunities to build their skills and business acumen.”

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