News from the Friends of Reinstein

It’s difficult to go more than a few minutes without using something made of plastic, from computers and cell phones to toothbrushes, food packaging and even some beauty products. (To see what a year’s worth of plastic looks like, check out the everyday plastic project . ) Those plastic products are not easy to recycle, and the plastic will be around for millenia.

The Plastic Soup Foundation has a new app to help us comprehend the impact of all this plastic on the oceans. The “My little plastic footprint” app has three sections: Discover, Footprint, and Inspire. The Discover section is an addictive “game” that asks you questions to test your knowledge of plastics, with questions ranging from  serious to funny (“Do kids get angry about straw-free parties?”). As you answer the questions, you remove plastic from the ocean, advance to higher levels, AND unlock photos of really cool recycled plastic artwork from several different artists who are working with the foundation.

The Footprint section lets you become an “Ocean Champion” by pledging to remove unnecessary plastics from your lifestyle, often things you might not have thought twice about (such as cotton swabs made with plastic stems instead of paper or cotton stems).

Finally, the Inspire section shares stories of star athletes and others who are working to help clean the oceans, and lets you weigh in on what actions should be taken to fight plastics pollution.