2020 Teens Dream - Reducing Plastic Pollution in Oceans

My name is Sumya and my dream is to live in a society where we are not dependent on single-use plastics. This goal addresses SDG #14: Life Below Water. Every year, more than 90% of plastics are never recycled or used again. These single-use plastics such as plastic water bottles and plastic straws get dumped in the ocean every year, accumulating to about 8 million metric tons of plastic. Can you imagine how much plastic is currently living in our world’s oceans today? No one knows for certain but the best estimate measured around 150 million metric tons of plastic. If we look into the future 20 years from now, that measurement can exponentially grow to a whopping 600 million metric tons of plastic. To help reduce the plastic pollution in our oceans, my app DO YOUR PART encourages young people to build recycling habits through a series of measures. First, labelings on plastics can be confusing, but with this app you can learn about the various types of packaging and how to dispose of it responsibly. By scanning the barcode attached on a product, the app identifies the type of packaging and breaks down how to recycle, compost, or throw away the product responsibly. And that’s not all! DO YOUR PART will launch a number of social media campaigns through the Tik Tok app. With its reputation for being popular amongst teens and Gen Z, Tik Tok can mobilize young audiences to participate in recycling challenges coordinated by DO YOUR PART. Participants can link their Tik Tok video directly onto the DO YOUR PART app to complete a challenge and earn points. These points can be later redeemed on sustainable products. You can track your progress on the app and even see the impact your community is making on reducing plastic waste. DO YOUR PART strives to change sustainable culture by integrating recycling into everyday life in a fun and meaningful way. What begins as a few drops of effort on YOUR PART can lead a generation to collectively saving an entire ocean.