Pitch 200: helping you see London's use of plastics in a whole new light

Every year, the Institution of Civil Engineering challenges its members to creatively communicate a feat or principle of civil engineering... in just 200 seconds. Pitch 200's an annual competition pitting civil engineers against each other to deliver the most fascinating bite-size insight. The idea is to make concepts like geotechnics and wastewater management — processes that may not be widely understood but nevertheless impact daily life — accessible to the public.

With voting now open, the Graduate Tunnel Engineer representing London and the South East for Pitch 200 2020 needs your help. Rui Jian Tee won his heat for his pitch on Geogrid: a synthetic product that, among other applications, improves the longevity of roads when placed over the underlying soil. It's a fantastic example of how despite their bad rep, plastics can be used for good when produced in the right form.

Click here to vote for Tee and to see who he's up against. Voting closes on 30 September but, whoever wins, you are guaranteed to come away from the competition with a deeper understanding of how the infrastructure we use every day really works... with a little help from props including ping pong balls, toilet roll and even Victoria sponge. Told you it gets creative...