+
upworthy
Heroes

One initiative is sharing their designs for free to help lessen the world's plastic waste.

The stats surrounding plastic pollution are mind-boggling.

Right now, there are billions of pounds of plastic wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. And every year, it's estimated that 13 million tons more will make its way out there — poisoning Mother Nature and killing even more wildlife.

Not cool. At all.


Image via Precious Plastic, used with permission.

The problem is the process of actually recycling plastic isn't as thorough as it might seem. In 2010, the EPA estimated that of the plastic used in the U.S., only about 8% was recycled. The other 92% just ends up in landfills, oceans, and who knows where else.

Totally unacceptable.

This mind-blowing statistic sparked an idea in Dutch designer Dave Hakkens that could change how people approach recycling. He says: "When I heard that less than 10% of plastic gets recycled, I figured, 'Why not everything? Why not more?' Because plastic is actually easy to recycle."

This led Hakkens to start Precious Plastic — an innovative approach to solving the world's plastic problem. And it's pretty fantastic.

Precious Plastic is an initiative that allows anyone to create their own plastic recycling machines anywhere they want. Even better, they can create amazing products out of the recycled material.

Image via Precious Plastic, used with permission.

Hakkens explains further on his website: "The machinery is based on industry standards but designed to build yourself, easy to use and made to work with recycled plastic. You can bring your old plastic to a workshop like this, new products will be made and sold. Like a carpenter or a ceramist, it is now possible to produce plastic locally."

Want to help with the mission? Here are seven things to know about this game-changing idea.

1. The blueprints for the machines can be downloaded for FREE!

Image via Precious Plastic, used with permission.

That's right! Free! As in, like, RIGHT HERE.

Precious Plastic is open-source, meaning anyone can use it, anyone can share it, and anyone can customize it. It also means anyone can set up a workshop anywhere!

2. All the materials, parts, and tools needed are super-basic.

Image via Dave Hakkens/YouTube.

These materials are so basic, in fact, that everything necessary to build the machines can be obtained all over the world. This makes the initiative extremely doable, from the developing to the developed world.

More importantly, it means the parts can be replaced or customized without having to call any sort of customer service.

3. There are detailed instructional videos for every step in the process.

Image via Dave Hakkens/YouTube.

People aren't just getting blueprints and instructions with IKEA-esque hieroglyphics. No. Every move that needs to made to get a personal recycling center up and running is explained in a beautifully shot step-by-step series.

4. There are four machines that each do one thing extremely well to turn plastic trash into everyday treasures.

It all starts with the Shredder. (No, not the sworn enemy of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.)

GIF via Dave Hakkens/YouTube.

This kind of shredder is the machine responsible for breaking down plastic into itty-bitty flakes that serve as the foundation for any item you create with the other machines.

The Extrusion Machine can create ropey plastic filament. (Perfect for 3D printing!)


GIF via Dave Hakkens/YouTube.

You know how Play-Doh had that machine where you put the clay inside and then out came the clay looking like a rope? Well, that's pretty much what the Extrusion Machine is like, only it starts out as plastic flakes instead.

The Injection Molding Machine pours hot plastic straight into a mold.

GIF via Dave Hakkens/YouTube.

This is kind of like when blacksmiths would pour hot metal into a pre-existing template. Then after some cooling, out comes the armor! The best part is, there are patterns for different molds to make all kinds of stuff!

For larger objects, you can cook 'em up in the Compressor.

GIF via Dave Hakkens/YouTube.

For bigger, more solid stuff like baskets, bowls, and even clipboards, the mold is placed inside the oven. After a few hours, out comes the useful everyday object.

5. It can be done for fun or as a business (which is also fun).

Image via Precious Plastic Lab, used with permission.

We know this can be done in the comfort of one's own workshop as a hobby. But it's also possible for recyclers to create a business out of it and start their own recycling center. And that is especially important to Hakkens.

"We envision that later on, in every community or every neighborhood, there is a place where you can bring your plastic which is locally turned into something new and people get some money in return for that plastic. That would be the ultimate goal."

6. Builders around the world are joining in on the movement.

Image via Dave Hakkens/YouTube.

Because Precious Plastic relies on an open-source system, sharing is absolutely crucial. And in the short time it's been around, it's already made its way to every continent on Earth — save for Antarctica.

You can even check out how other builders around the world are doing on Precious Plastic Lab.

7. There's so much awesome stuff that can be made!

Colorful containers!

Image via Precious Plastic, used with permission.

Even a new home for houseplants.

Image via Precious Plastic, used with permission.

Or a sweet knife handle upgrade.

Image via Precious Plastic, used with permission.

The possibilities are endless.

Image via Precious Plastic, used with permission.

Precious Plastic already provides people with a list of items they can create. But they also encourage experimentation to see what other ideas are out there. For them, the only limit to creation is one's imagination.

This type of creative problem-solving is exactly what our world needs more of.

Yes, there are millions and billions of little plastic bits scattered all over. And it'll probably take some time for a personal recycling workshop to make a huge impact. But it is a step in the right direction.

Part of Precious Plastic's mission is to simply spread this idea to as many people as possible. That's why it's all free. It's not about profit. It's about change.

And as the number of people creating their own machines around the world grows, so does our ability as a people to make planet Earth as green as ever.

All images provided by Prudential Emerging Visionaries

Collins after being selected by Prudential Emerging Visionaries

True

A changemaker is anyone who takes creative action to solve an ongoing problem—be it in one’s own community or throughout the world.

And when it comes to creating positive change, enthusiasm and a fresh perspective can hold just as much power as years of experience. That’s why, every year, Prudential Emerging Visionaries celebrates young people for their innovative solutions to financial and societal challenges in their communities.

This national program awards 25 young leaders (ages 14-18) up to $15,000 to devote to their passion projects. Additionally, winners receive a trip to Prudential’s headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, where they receive coaching, skills development, and networking opportunities with mentors to help take their innovative solutions to the next level.

For 18-year-old Sydnie Collins, one of the 2023 winners, this meant being able to take her podcast, “Perfect Timing,” to the next level.

Since 2020, the Maryland-based teen has provided a safe platform that promotes youth positivity by giving young people the space to celebrate their achievements and combat mental health stigmas. The idea came during the height of Covid-19, when Collins recalled social media “becoming a dark space flooded with news,” which greatly affected her own anxiety and depression.

Knowing that she couldn’t be the only one feeling this way, “Perfect Timing” seemed like a valuable way to give back to her community. Over the course of 109 episodes, Collins has interviewed a wide range of guests—from other young influencers to celebrities, from innovators to nonprofit leaders—all to remind Gen Z that “their dreams are tangible.”

That mission statement has since evolved beyond creating inspiring content and has expanded to hosting events and speaking publicly at summits and workshops. One of Collins’ favorite moments so far has been raising $7,000 to take 200 underserved girls to see “The Little Mermaid” on its opening weekend, to “let them know they are enough” and that there’s an “older sister” in their corner.

Of course, as with most new projects, funding for “Perfect Timing” has come entirely out of Collins’ pocket. Thankfully, the funding she earned from being selected as a Prudential Emerging Visionary is going toward upgraded recording equipment, the support of expert producers, and skill-building classes to help her become a better host and public speaker. She’ll even be able to lease an office space that allows for a live audience.

Plus, after meeting with the 24 other Prudential Emerging Visionaries and her Prudential employee coach, who is helping her develop specific action steps to connect with her target audience, Collins has more confidence in a “grander path” for her work.

“I learned that my network could extend to multiple spaces beyond my realm of podcasting and journalism when industry leaders are willing to share their expertise, time, and financial support,” she told Upworthy. “It only takes one person to change, and two people to expand that change.”

Prudential Emerging Visionaries is currently seeking applicants for 2024. Winners may receive up to $15,000 in awards and an all-expenses-paid trip to Prudential’s headquarters with a parent or guardian, as well as ongoing coaching and skills development to grow their projects.

If you or someone you know between the ages of 14 -18 not only displays a bold vision for the future but is taking action to bring that vision to life, click here to learn more. Applications are due by Nov. 2, 2023.
Education

Mother of 7 stunned to learn the ‘Alphabet Song’ has been changed to get with the times

There's a good reason for the update. But it's jarring, to say the least.

Jessica Skube can't believe that they changed the 'Alphabet Song.'

The oldest published version of the melody to the “Alphabet Song” was in 1761. However, because it’s the same melody as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” it's hard to trace it to its original composer.

The “Alphabet Song” is so deeply entrenched in American culture that it almost seems sacrilegious to change a piece of music that’s one of the first most of us ever learned. But after all these years, some educators are altering the classic melody so that there is a variation when the letters L-M-N-O-P are sung.

This change shocked popular TikTokker Jessica Skube, who documents life raising 7 children with her 2.6 million followers. Nearly 10 million people have watched her video revealing the significant change, and it’s received over 56,000 comments since first being published in late 2020.

Keep ReadingShow less
via YouTube/ClubRandom

Bill Maher and Julian Lennon discuss The Beatles on the "Club Random" podcast.

Julian Lennon, son of Beatle John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, had a candid, two-hour conversation with Bill Maher on a recent episode of his “Club Random” podcast. During their intimate talk, Julian discussed his complicated feelings about being the subject of one of The Beatles' most famous songs, “Hey Jude.”

“Hey Jude” was written by Paul McCartney while driving to the Lennons’ house to comfort them after John Lennon left Cynthia for Yoko Ono in 1968. The song is credited to the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership, which by ‘68 mainly had splintered.

Keep ReadingShow less
Health

Artists got fed up with these 'anti-homeless spikes.' So they made them a bit more ... comfy.

"Our moral compass is skewed if we think things like this are acceptable."

Photo courtesy of CC BY-ND, Immo Klink and Marco Godoy

Spikes line the concrete to prevent sleeping.


These are called "anti-homeless spikes." They're about as friendly as they sound.

As you may have guessed, they're intended to deter people who are homeless from sitting or sleeping on that concrete step. And yeah, they're pretty awful.

The spikes are a prime example of how cities design spaces to keep homeless people away.

Keep ReadingShow less

Gen Zer asks what older generations did before Google

Google and smart phones have been around so long that Gen Z doesn't know a time before those things existed. They may have Googled what a card catalog was used for but plenty of them don't know the pressure we all felt having to learn the dewy decimal system while walking around the library with a card with numbers scribbled on it.

They've never experienced the frustration of having an out of date Encyclopedia collection from the thrift store that was missing books "D" and "X-Z" when you had a research assignment due. Oh, sweet tech savvy - we not me generation, doesn't understand that riding shot gun on a road trip meant you were suddenly a pirate with an Atlas map bigger than the dashboard.

Even as someone that was alive when having a rotary phone was the norm, I sometimes forget what life was like before all of the technological luxuries. It's not surprising that Gen Z is confused on how we survived back then without knowledge at our fingertips, so when one of them asked, Gen X, Xennials and elder Millennials entered the chat.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Doting husband serves as stylist for his wife of 25 years and it's the sweetest thing

The way he talks about "Flower"—his nickname for his wife—is a testament to lasting love.

Talk about an adorable couple

If there's one thing pretty much all humans love, it's love—love that works, love that lasts, love that inspires. Literature is full of love stories filled with heartache and heartbreak, but we always hold out hope that a relationship will not only endure but blossom.

Such a love feels rare enough that we marvel when we see it, which is why the Motivat family has gained a loyal following on Instagram. The elder Motivats (Dr. Jones and Dr. Beatrice) have been married for 25 years, and their daughter shares their sweet interactions on the Instagram account @queenmotivat.

One of the hallmarks of the couple's long-time love story is that Dr. Jones loves to pick out clothes for his wife. And not just any clothes—beautiful dresses and gowns, along with jewelry to go with them—and his enthusiasm for seeing "Flower" (his nickname for her) dressed up is incredibly sweet.

Keep ReadingShow less

Know the signs of a domestic abuser.

Most abusers don't start their relationships by hitting their partners. That's why early warning signs are vital to recognize.

I know two women who recently left abusive partners. Both men seemed sweet and likable—even gentle—each time I saw them. Both had some lovely qualities as people and even as partners. And both turned out to be controlling, increasingly abusive partners behind closed doors.


Keep ReadingShow less