The next generation of "green" plastics won quite a bit of green at Thursday night's Cade Prize for Innovation award ceremony.
Gainesville's Innovation Community came out to Santa Fe College's Fine Arts Hall for the announcement of the winner of this year's contest.
Ryan Martin and Stephen Miller of "Florida Sustainables" took home the top prize. They are developing a special plastic that they say is cheaper, greener, and tougher than existing plastics.
Their company earned $50,000, a year's residency at the Gainesville Technology Enterprise Center, and $2,500 worth of legal counsel.
Cade Prize Organizer Sheila Spence says she hopes to expand the prize to the rest of the state next year.
"The cade prize was developed by the Cade Foundation to honor and assist companies or entrepreneurs with creative and innovated ideas that can benefit our society."
The runners-up were Optima Neuroscience, Xobotics, and Sol-Gel solutions. They each received prizes of $5,000.