Plastic, pollution, and 3 inventions to the rescue!
Plastic Free July is not far behind us and the concepts and concerns that arose from it permeate our lives year-round.
The award-winning initiative was started by the Plastic Free Foundation. It's a global movement helping people and organisations take action to end plastic waste. This year, there was a particular focus on single use plastic and ways to reduce our usage. You can find a range of helpful tips and plastic alternatives here.
One of the most devastating aspects of plastic’s impact is how much of it is unnecessary. From coffee cups that are instantly thrown away to bags we use to carry groceries home and then bin. These examples of single use plastic are far from essential to our daily routines.
The non-biodegradable material is made from chemicals derived from crude oil, natural gas, or coal, and our reliance on plastic further heightens the demand for these fuels. Harmful chemicals are also released from plastics throughout their life cycle, which lasts a very long time. This contributes to global warming.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Many organisations and individual activists around the world make a daily, concerted effort to reduce plastic pollution and help heal our planet from damage already done.
Plus innovative ways to reuse plastic are springing up all the time. Precious Plastic’s project in Conwy and Rhondda Cynon Taf is recycling plastics into a variety of objects to help reduce waste, one of which is prosthetic limbs.
Prosthetic legs can be made out of bottles, offering a far more affordable and planet-friendly option for those in need. Similarly, tote bags can be made from plastic bags, chess boards from bottle caps, and even car components from various plastics. These possibilities should encourage all of us to recycle responsibly in our homes.
At Little Inventors, taking children’s ideas seriously is our mantra. This extends to acknowledging their opinions on issues that affect them and their world. Our Climate Champions Challenge, which is currently being delivered to schools in Chile, leans heavily on the need to include children in conversations about our climate.
Our first iteration of the Challenge, which was presented worldwide, made it all the way to the UN in Geneva, where the voices of the child inventors implored adults in power to listen to their ideas and take action.
Our challenges offer sessions of real hands-on creativity and imagination, the children proactively think up, draw, and often prototype their invention idea, but they’re also an opportunity to teach children about larger topics in an accessible and engaging way.
Invention is a vessel through which the children gain a better understanding of how people and objects all interact with our world.
When we present challenges to children that focus on our environment and preventing pollution, combating harmful plastics is a concept many of them hone in on. We’ve seen inventions that clean our oceans, recycle plastics into an array of incredible things, and those that consist of objects designed to be reusable.
Take a look at three amazing invention ideas that were thought up to fight plastic pollution. We loved them so much each one was brought to life!
The Ocean Snake of Doom (for plastic)
Samantha, age 10, from the US submitted The Ocean Snake of Doom (for plastic) idea to our MISD Missions Blue: Oceans! Challenge - and won! This snake is bad news for one thing and one thing only: plastic.
The remote controlled device moves through the ocean to ‘eat’ polluting plastics and in turn breaks them down into fuel to keep the snake moving. Now that’s self-sufficient. PTI Engineered Plastics in Michigan brought Samantha’s idea to life.
Plastic Masterpiece Maker
This invention was a clear winner of our Mission: Protect our Oceans Challenge because what it does is just so unique. Its inventor Erica, age 8 from Canada, took an artistic approach to her idea. Plastic Masterpiece Maker takes plastic waste and transforms it into artworks.
With a fantastically catchy name to boot, the idea truly stood out amongst the entries. Not only can users of the invention feel good about their recycling efforts but they get a new piece of art for the living room too. It was brought to life by David Dumbrell, a Canadian artist who constructed the make out of wood, belts, and various pre-loved bits and pieces.
The Sea Sweeper 1000
As part of our Pioneers! Challenge, Lainey, age 10 from the UK, put forward The Sea Sweeper 1000. We loved the way this nifty robot blends in with sea creatures to complete a very important job. It sweeps through the ocean to collect waste and collects kinetic energy from waves.
Lainey even added a sensor to ensure none of its fellow fish are harmed. Cardboard artist extraordinaire Lottie Smith brought this one to life.
The beloved prototype is currently being displayed at our Powering the Future exhibition at The Word in South Shields.
If you know a little inventor with an idea that deals with pesky plastic and is beneficial for our planet, we'd love to see it and feature it on our Ideas page. Upload it here.