Turning Fallen Leaves Into Sustainably Made Paper: Ukrainian Scientist Selected as a Finalist for the Young Inventors Prize 2024

Every autumn, millions of trees shed their leaves—blanketing city streets in gold and crimson, only to be swept up and discarded as waste. But what if those leaves, often burned or left to rot, held the key to one of our most pressing environmental dilemmas?

As global demand for paper continues to rise, nearly half of all industrially felled trees are turned into paper products—magazines, packaging, receipts, and more. Behind every sheet lies a trail of deforestation, heavy water use, chemical treatment, and carbon emissions. It’s an invisible cost we pay every time we unwrap a package or print a page.

Now, a young Ukrainian scientist is flipping this equation—transforming what we throw away into what we rely on. With a blend of curiosity, chemistry, and climate consciousness, Valentyn Frechka has pioneered a method to turn fallen leaves into fully functional, sustainable paper. What began as a high school science project is now reshaping an industry.

Here’s how dead leaves became a lifeline for living forests.

The Environmental Cost of the Conventional Industry

Paper is woven into nearly every corner of modern life—from receipts to product packaging, notebooks to newspapers. Yet behind this everyday material lies a massive environmental footprint that often goes unseen. The conventional paper industry is one of the world’s most resource-intensive sectors. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), it accounts for 13 to 15 percent of all wood consumption globally and uses up to 40 percent of industrially traded wood. In real terms, this means an estimated six million trees are cut down every year solely for paper production.

The toll doesn’t stop at forests. Producing just one tonne of wood-based paper consumes approximately 230 cubic meters of water, uses significant amounts of energy, and often involves harsh chemical treatments such as chlorine bleaching and sulphate pulping. The process is energy-hungry and emission-heavy, contributing substantially to greenhouse gases. In fact, the industry ranks among the top five consumers of energy worldwide.

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Urban environments, meanwhile, present an ironic contrast. Every year, city governments spend millions managing tons of fallen leaves—natural biomass that is often treated as a disposal problem. These leaves, collected from sidewalks and parks, are usually composted or incinerated. Burning them, in particular, releases carbon monoxide and other pollutants, worsening air quality and squandering a potentially valuable resource.

This intersection—of excessive demand for wood-based paper and the underutilization of urban plant waste—presents both a problem and an opportunity. It’s here that innovators like Valentyn Frechka saw a path forward. By asking a simple yet radical question—why not make paper from leaves?—he tapped into a potential solution that not only diverts waste from urban systems but also directly addresses deforestation, water use, and emissions in one fell swoop.

From School Lab to Global Stage

The roots of Valentyn Frechka’s innovation trace back to a quiet village in western Ukraine, where he grew up surrounded by forests, mountains, and a deep reverence for nature. It was here, in Sokyrnytsia, that his fascination with the environment began—not as a scientific pursuit, but as a personal connection. By age 16, that connection evolved into a mission: to find a way to protect forests from unnecessary destruction.

The idea struck him during a hike in the Carpathians. Walking through fallen leaves, he began to wonder: if leaves contain cellulose—the same core ingredient found in wood—why couldn’t they be used to make paper? That question would set him on a years-long journey of experimentation and development, beginning in his high school chemistry lab. With the support of a teacher and Ukraine’s Junior Academy of Sciences, Valentyn embarked on a series of trials, initially working with grass and straw before shifting focus to leaf fibers.

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By 2017, after months of trial and error, he successfully produced the first prototypes of leaf-based paper. They were simple sheets, but durable enough to write on, print on, and fold—proof that the idea could work. Valentyn’s research quickly gained attention beyond Ukraine. He presented his findings at international science fairs in the U.S., South Korea, and Kenya, drawing recognition for both the scientific novelty and environmental promise of his work.

The project evolved from a school experiment into a startup when he partnered with entrepreneur Alexander Sobolenko. Together, they co-founded Releaf Paper, driven by a shared belief that nature and technology could coexist without exploitation. In 2021, the company officially launched, and what began as a teenager’s curiosity matured into a commercially viable solution for one of the world’s most persistent environmental problems.

How the Technology Works

The process begins with the collection of leaves exclusively from city streets, parks, and sidewalks—never from forests. As co-founder Alexander Sobolenko explains, “We can’t use the leaves from the forest… there’s an ecosystem there.” By focusing on urban leaf litter, Releaf not only preserves natural ecosystems but also offers cities a cost-effective waste management solution.

Once collected, the leaves are cleaned thoroughly to remove debris and contaminants. This pre-treatment stage is crucial, as it ensures a uniform, stable feedstock for paper production. The cleaned leaves are then subjected to a series of high-pressure, high-temperature treatments inside specialized reactors. These steps break down the leaf structure and isolate the cellulose fibers—without the need for harsh chemicals typically used in traditional paper pulping processes.

After the initial breakdown, the extracted fibers are washed multiple times, ground into a fibrous pulp, and combined with natural bio-fillers. This pulp mixture is then dried and rolled out into sheets or coils of paper. The entire process is engineered to be energy-efficient and water-conserving. Compared to traditional wood-based paper, Releaf’s method uses three times less energy and 15 times less water—just 10–15 cubic meters per tonne of paper, versus 230 cubic meters for conventional production.

What emerges is a versatile, eco-friendly material. Releaf Paper currently produces paper with densities ranging from 70 to 300 grams per square meter, making it suitable for everything from shopping bags and packaging boxes to wrapping paper and office supplies. The final product is strong, printable, and compostable—biodegrading in soil within just 30 to 40 days, compared to the 270 days or more needed for conventional paper.

Perhaps most impressively, each tonne of Releaf paper saves approximately 17 trees and repurposes 2.3 tonnes of leaves, demonstrating that sustainable innovation doesn’t just reduce harm—it actively restores balance. In a world seeking low-impact alternatives, this is a rare example of technology that not only imitates nature, but works in harmony with it.

A Win-Win for Cities and the Planet

Urban areas generate vast quantities of organic waste—particularly during autumn, when streets overflow with fallen leaves that must be collected, transported, and processed at considerable public expense. Traditionally, this leaf litter ends up in landfills, composting facilities, or worse, incinerators that release harmful pollutants into the air. Releaf Paper’s innovation reimagines this waste stream not as a burden, but as an opportunity—creating a symbiotic model that benefits both municipalities and the environment.

Releaf Paper partners directly with city councils, offering a simple proposition: deliver your collected leaves to our processing facilities instead of paying to dispose of them. In return, the company transforms this green waste into a commercially valuable material—sustainable paper. “It’s really a good solution,” notes co-founder Valentyn Frechka. “We keep the balance—we get fibres for paper production, and we give lignin back as a semi-fertilizer for the cities to fertilize the gardens or the trees.”

This closed-loop approach not only reduces municipal waste management costs but also prevents the carbon emissions that would result from leaf decomposition or burning. According to Releaf’s estimates, their production process emits 78% less CO₂ than conventional methods. Moreover, each tonne of Releaf paper produced avoids cutting down 17 trees, providing a quantifiable contribution to forest conservation.

From a sustainability standpoint, the impact is striking. Traditional paper can take nearly nine months to decompose; Releaf’s paper breaks down in just 30 to 40 days. Products like bags and boxes made from their paper are not only recyclable but can also be reused multiple times before they fully biodegrade—an important step toward reducing single-use packaging waste.

The company’s green credentials are matched by its commercial viability. Releaf currently produces around three million paper bags per month, serving major clients such as L’Oréal, Samsung, Google, and Schneider Electric. These partnerships demonstrate a growing appetite among global brands for alternatives to resource-intensive packaging.

Recognition, Growth, and Global Ambition

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What began as a high school science experiment has evolved into a globally recognized innovation with far-reaching impact. Releaf Paper’s journey from a modest Ukrainian lab to international acclaim is marked not only by its technical achievement but also by the growing recognition it has received from the environmental, scientific, and business communities.

In 2024, Releaf Paper was named a finalist for the Young Inventors Prize by the European Patent Office (EPO), placing its founder Valentyn Frechka among the top young innovators under 30 in Europe. Chosen from over 550 applicants, this nomination acknowledges Releaf’s alignment with key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure) and SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production). Frechka’s achievement sits alongside other pioneering youth projects, such as a smart wheelchair interface from Tunisia and a portable infection detection kit from the Netherlands—placing him in the company of inventors addressing real-world challenges with tangible, scalable solutions.

But accolades are just one part of the story. Releaf has also secured substantial financial backing, including a €2.5 million grant through the European Commission’s EIC Accelerator program. These funds have supported the development of a pilot plant and helped lay the groundwork for future expansion. With a current production capability of up to 5,000 tonnes annually, the company continues to grow, refining its technology while increasing its market presence.

Headquartered in Kyiv and Paris, Releaf Paper is pursuing a strategy of global partnerships and localized production. The company is actively engaging with sustainability-focused investors in France, Japan, the U.S., and Canada, aiming to set up joint ventures instead of franchises—an approach that allows for deeper integration and long-term commitment in each region. Additionally, it is exploring partnerships with national investment agencies in Western and Northern Europe to simplify logistics and reach broader markets.

Looking ahead, Releaf plans to diversify its raw material base by exploring the use of other agricultural residues—like banana, pineapple, and yucca leaves—broadening its impact and further reducing dependence on virgin resources. This ambition is not just about scaling a product, but about changing a paradigm: shifting from linear extraction and waste to a regenerative model rooted in ecological intelligence.

What Innovation Rooted in Nature Can Teach Us

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Releaf Paper is more than a technological breakthrough—it’s a reminder that some of the most effective solutions to our biggest problems are not invented in sterile labs or boardrooms, but inspired by the natural world itself. By looking down at a forest floor covered in fallen leaves, a teenager from rural Ukraine saw not waste, but possibility. That shift in perspective—humble, intuitive, and deeply ecological—is at the heart of this story.

Valentyn Frechka’s innovation doesn’t just offer an alternative to traditional paper; it challenges an entire industrial mindset. It shows that the raw materials we overlook—urban waste, decaying leaves, discarded biomass—can become building blocks for sustainable economies when approached with creativity and care. In a world grappling with deforestation, pollution, and climate instability, such circular thinking isn’t just desirable; it’s essential.

But the lesson goes beyond leaves and paper. Releaf’s journey demonstrates the importance of nurturing youth-led innovation, investing in green startups, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. It highlights the value of designing systems that work with, rather than against, nature’s cycles. And it calls on cities, companies, and consumers alike to reconsider the lifecycle of the products they use daily.

As the paper industry—and the world—faces mounting pressure to evolve, Releaf Paper offers a tangible, replicable model of what the future can look like: cleaner, smarter, and rooted in respect for the planet. It’s proof that with vision, persistence, and a bit of nature’s wisdom, even something as ordinary as a leaf can help reshape the way we live.

Feature Image from Instagram @valeo_fresko