WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the winners of its annual People, Prosperity and the Planet competition.

The winners and their projects were the University of California-Berkeley for an electrochemical arsenic remediation system for rural Bangladesh, the University of California-Davis for production of natural plastics in wastewater treatment, Loyola University for biodiesel production, the University of Iowa for drinking water disinfection in poor nations, Drexel University for production of biodiesel from high fatty acid oils and the University of Illinois for a sustainable water development program for rural Nigeria.

The national competition is designed to encourage college students to create sustainable solutions to environmental problems through technological innovation.

Each winner receives funding up to $75,000 to further develop their designs and implement them in the field or move them to the marketplace.