With PET (plastic) wine bottles the talk of the town this year, we wondered what our beer drinking buddies were up to on the green front.In steps Australian Thomas Hussey, who slapped up a box contraption to hold your beer.

With a two-pronged focus on cost and environmental impact, Hussey’s invention eschews pricier bottles, kegs and cans in favor of a revolutionary collapsible container that maintains the CO2 pressure while barring oxygen. And it’s turned heads. Hussey is one of 14 finalists in the student category of the 2010 Australian Design Award and the Australian component of the James Dyson Award who will advance to the global competition.