Eric invented an adjustable cardboard tissue box which pops up over the top of the existing box, a plastic-lined bin box to dispose of used tissues in the office or the family home.The idea came to him during his family’s most recent bout of the flu.

Eric realised his mum didn’t appreciate him leaving dirty tissues around the house.

And so he dreamed up an invention that allows him to take a clean tissue, and dispose of the dirty tissues in the same box.

Eric entered the tidy idea into the ‘littleBIGidea’ competition, and is in the running to win a trip to the NASA Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA.

“It would be a really fun experience, because you get to work with professionals to design your product," he said.

“That would be amazing.”

He used seven tissue boxes to create the perfect prototype, and he put together a video to catch the eye of the judges with help from his grandparents and dad.

The competition remains open to school kids from Years three to eight until September 15.

The top 12 inventions in the competition will win $1,000, participation in a design workshop, and support from an industry mentor to help further their idea.

The best invention in each of the three categories (grades 3-4, grades 5-6, grades 7-8) will win the NASA trip.

This isn’t Eric’s first creation, last year he invented a vigilant vest for pre-schoolers.

“The pre-schools could buy this vest which would have a tracker in it,” he said.

“If the kid went out of range and someone took them, it would beep, then the kid would not get abducted.

“Sometimes I look at the news and I see a problem, then I think of a solution, and say, ‘hey, let’s invent something to stop that.’”

Eric’s in his final year of primary school at Jamberoo Public School, with his sights set on becoming a robotics engineer.