Innovation on full display! Take a look at the creative solutions coming in from young people around the world.
Want YOUR solution in the gallery? Share your solution with a photo, drawing, or Scratch project!
We’ve given away a Community Champion award to one submission for each month of the challenge!
The Community Champion award is sponsored by Amazon Future Engineer.
Group submission
Mexico
"En lugar de plástico, utilizar el material llamado bambú (una especie de madera), que es biodegradable. Utilizar botellas Tupperware para disminuir la contaminación y el consumo de botellas dañinas al ambiente"
Group submission
Mexico
"Los alumnos implementaron la estrategia de crear plástico degradable através de cascaras de plátano, glicerina, etc."
Group submission
Mexico
"Se realizaron diversas estrategias para lograr reducir la mayor cantidad de basura plástica posible; termos reutilizables, eco bolsas, bolsas de tela, llevar recipientes al mercado para carnes y quesos, para evitar el uso de bolsas plásticas; cristalería en fiestas, etc."
Group submission
Mexico
"Los alumnos recolectaran las botellas de plástico y posterior a un tiempo, deberán venderlas para comprar bolsas ecológicas, con el objetivo de disminuir el uso de las bolsas de plástico."
Group submission
Mexico
"Recolección de botellas de PET, tapas de plástico, además del diseño y elaboración de cárteles que previenen la contaminación plástica. Con las botellas de PET diseñaron casas para mascotas mismas que colocaron en su domicilio y puntos estratégicos de la comunidad."
Mary Hopkins Elementary School
ON, Canada
"We are going to monitor and limit our non-recyclable plastic consumption to encourage parents when they buy a new product, to consider an eco-friendly alternative. (Ex. corn silk dental floss, bamboo hairbrush). Many families have already committed to having discussions over the summer about how to do better on reducing plastic consumption."
Group submission
Mexico
"no se puede dibujar pero en mi opinión deberíamos de reunir las botellas y empezar a investigar en que las podemos utilizar ósea darles un uso para no tirarlas como convertirlas en maceta o una regadera para las plantas hay muchas ideas"
Meaghan
ON, Canada
"We would like to eliminate our plastic water bottle waste in the following 3 ways: 1. Bring a reusable bottle made of another material. 2. Reuse any plastic water bottles we use for other purposes such as vases, containers and other crafts. 3. Make sure any water bottles we use go into the recycling only."
Meaghan
ON, Canada
"We would like to eliminate our plastic water bottle waste in the following 3 ways: 1. Bring a reusable bottle made of another material. 2. Reuse any plastic water bottles we use for other purposes such as vases, containers and other crafts. 3. Make sure any water bottles we use go into the recycling only."
Centre Hastings Secondary School
ON, Canada
"Our group decided on a three part solution to reduce plastic waste. 1. Bring reusable bags to the grocery store. 2. Request paper bags for bakery products instead of plastic containers. 3. Purchase large reusable water jugs instead of small disposable water bottles"
Elgin Street Public School
ON, Canada
"My goal is to stop using plastic spoons and start using metal spoons because if we use too many plastic spoons it will be bad. Plastic spoons cannot be washed. But Metal once can be washed and metal spoons are reusable and plastic ones aren’t. That’s why I will stop using plastic spoons."
Group submission
Mexico
"Cuando hablamos de reducir nuestros desechos plásticos sé nos vienen muchas cosas a la mente:Reciclar plásticos Reutilizar bolsas comprar lo menos posible alimentos embotellados y llegamos a la conclusión de la tres R: Reutiliza, Recicla y rechaza"
Leah
BC, Canada
"I will stop using plastic bottles at school by always bringing my stainless steel water bottle with me."
Group submission
Mexico
"Ser responsables al usar este tipo de artículos para almacenarlos en el lugar que corresponde"
Group submission
Mexico
"Cuando hablamos de reducir nuestros desechos plásticos sé nos vienen muchas cosas a la mente:Reciclar plásticos Reutilizar bolsas comprar lo menos posible alimentos embotelladosny llegamos a la conclusión de la tres R:Reutiliza, Recicla y rechaza"
Group submission
QC, Canada
"Chaque élève a apporté une gourde réutilisable de la maison pour leur breuvage de la journée. Alors, on a réduit notre consommation d'emballage et de bouteilles d'eau. De plus, mes élèves ne mettent plus leurs collations dans des sacs de Ziploc mais bien dans des plats réutilisables."
Eunchan
AB, Canada
"My game is to put trash inside the bins and to get people to use other things that can replace plastic."
Mariam
ON, Canada
"Ma solution est de mettre les déchets dans les basins correcte pour qu'on peut plus facilement récyler nos déchets et on aura moins de déchets contaminé des les centre de récyclage."
Jovan
BC, Canada
"Jovan Déchets plastiques - solution Déchets plastiques - I picked up plastic bag to replace with paper bag as solution. It will make reduction of use of plastic for 520 grams per year. Graph will change to 1382 instead of 1902 grams per year. J’ai ramassé sac en plastique pour remplacer par sac en papier comme solution. Il permettra de réduire l’utilisation du plastique pour 520 grammes par an. Graphique va passer à 1382 grammes au lieu de 1902 grammes par an."
Group submission
ON, Canada
"I am going to try to reduce my plastic consumption by drinking tap water in a glass, making my own hot chocolate, filling my water bottle, reusing coffee cups, and bringing in my reusable cup and straw."
Group submission
QC, Canada
"Taxer les produits consommant beaucoup de plastiques en fonction du poids et du nombre d'achat moyen par jour. Les taxes pourraient aussi servir pour des futurs projets tels qu'un ramassage de déchets dans l'océan grâce à des machines ou financer plus des projets comme par exemple des OGM qui pourraient détruire le plastique."
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"Our proposal is the water bottle irrigation system. This system is very easy to make at small and big scales, and you can move it around just the way you like plus it will water your plants or crops automatically. The main point of this proposalnnis to give a use to the millions of water bottles that are thrown in the trash everyday, by also helping the flora!"
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"Our ideas for reducing plastic residues in your home, are thought with the intention that everyone can do it, and that there is no need to buy sophisticated things. With that in mind, here is our first idea. We are, first, going to talk about a general idea for reducing plastic pollution. Then, we are going to go deeper in certain residues. Our main idea is that you, at your home, have one bag or box, and that inside that box, you put all the plastic you generate during a week. And at the end of the week, you take it to a plastic center where they reuse all the plastic."
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"The purpose of this project is to spend less plastic in the long run because plastic is very damaging to the environment.The main idea about our proyect is to reduce the plastic and how we are going to do that, with 3 ideas. utilize more thermo´s or glasses instead of water bottles also when you go to the supermarket take your own bags instead of the ones they give you there nnCook fresh instead of eating fast food."
Group submission
QC, Canada
"Utiliser moins de plastiquen-choisir des objets qui ne sont pas fait en plastique (bambou, bois, verre, métal) - ramasser les déchets dans la courn-réduire / réutiliser / recycler."
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"Always have with you a reusable bottle with a reusable straw. Every time you go to a restaurant, you can give them your reusable bottle and tell them to serve your drink in there. Now you can enjoy your delicious drink with your reusable straw, being proud of yourself for contributing with your grain of sand to help this world be a better place. Nowadays, some coffee shops for example Starbucks give you a discount if you bring your reusable bottle. Take advantage and save money while helping the environment. Our suggestion:Silicone Straws: Koffie strawnnStainless-Steel Straws: Greens Steel Stainless-Steel Straw Set Bamboo Straws: Buluh StrawsnnGlass Straws: Simply Strawsnn."
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"We have created an idea for the reduction of the following plastics in our homes, our plastics are poptes, container, jugs, bags and bottles, all of these made of plastic. We hope that with the following ideas that we are going to show you, we can carry out a great reduction of plastic and not only us but all those who can. For plastic straws, which are normally used when you have a soda or any other drink that is in a container that is not totally clean, we recommend you buy a metal straw, which can be washed every time you use it and with this you will no longer have to use disposable disposables that are single use or clean the containers well before starting to drink your drink. For the plastic container, which normally every time you buy one, is to buy juice, water or milk, so we recommend that you tell who you buy it from, that the next time you buy a new one you give them the empty container so they can wash it and fill it up again and sell it again, that is, make it reusable. nFor plastic jugs, which are normally bought to keep water in our homes, we recommend telling the gentlemen who sell them that you give them the empty jug so that they can fill it up and sell it again. For plastic bags, that the vast majority of plastic bags give them to you when you buy something at the supermarket, so we recommend that every time you go to make a supermarket, you carry cloth bags that are too long so they don't have you. To give bags, and we tell them to join because if not, there is no point in only using it once and it is no longer useful. And finally the plastic bottles, these are the most abundant in the world since they are found everywhere and in abundance, normally they are given to you as a container for your drinks, so we recommend, separate them and each time they collect garbage, give them that bag to use again."
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"OUR PROPOSAL TO REUSE, RECYCLE AND REDUCE PLASTIC, IS THAT instead of using plastic disposable materials, use materials that are biodegradable or anything you can use again , THE MATERIALS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ARE plastic bases, plastic plates, straws, napkins… AS WE KNOW THESE MATERIALS ARE ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT CONTAMINATE OUR WORLD."
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"We are trying to eliminate the plastic that we use and exchanging it for metal or another material that doesn't contaminate."
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"Our proposal: When you go to the supermarket or for shop something instead of carrying plastic bags, takes bags made of recycled materials."
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"From now on, recycle bottles and everything plastic that you can think of. Buy only a limited amount and shop the rest locally. so that you do not stuff your house with plastic that you will not be able to recycle. For example, instead of buying a bunch of shampoos every week, recycle the number of bottles you need and use those. If there is something you cannot buy without plastic, donate it or throw it in the recycling bin."
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"What is our proposal? Our proposal is to reduce the plastic that comes packaged in the supermarket products like all legumes, fruits and vegetables and then the plastic that left over we used it to make an eco brick. In the eco brick you can put all plastic. How does the bulk sale and the Eco brick work? We place our super in reusable bags and mason jars and then we put the remaining plastic in the eco-brick nHow does the Bulk sale and the Eco brick benefit? We help reduce the use of plastic by buying fabric bags and reuse the plastic to make the eco brick, that helps people in need to build their home."
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"Our project is about changing the products that we normally have at home for those which are enviromentally friend and do not pollute. For instance, things that can be refilled, recycled material, etc., in this way, we will become more aware of what the world needs. We believe that with small projects and all the people's help, we can make a difference. In the coming slides we will give some visual examples of what we can do for a change."
Instituto Cumbres
Mexico
"1.-Avoid buying water in plastic bottles. Water bottles represent one of the main waste problems worldwide, since they are not always fully lable. The best option would be to drink tap water, filtered with a good old clay filter, but if someone does not like the taste of the mud filter or doubts the drinking water in their city they could choose or buy water in returnable bottles. 2.-Forget the plastic straws. It sounds silly, but plastic straws are totally expendable. Just out of habit, we use a lot of straws for nothing, when we can simply drink from the glass without problems. If you do not know the damage that a simple plastic straw can cause to the environment, I advise you to watch this video where a sea turtle will tell you about it. 3.-Fall in love with reusable bags – nothing more obvious that I know of. However, this simple change is of great importance for the environment, you only have to change the plastic bags for cloth or plant material bags. You can even make your own, for example with newspaper. 4.-Avoid frozen foods in supermarkets. The frozen food area is full of unnecessary packaging that fills our landfills. Avoiding going through it can help you end up with two males at once. 5.-Get the gum out of your life. nMost of today's chewing gums contain plastic in their composition."
Nayeli
Mexico
"Para comenzar haremos carteles con la intención de que mas personas se enteren de nuestra iniciativa y así poder hacer un poco mas de conciencia sobre el grado de contaminación en el que estamos viviendo y que la mayor cantidad es debido al PET utilizado , después empezaremos con hábitos personales como moderar la cantidad de PET que utilizamos, juntarlo y llevarlo a los centros donde se encargan directamente de juntarlo y procesarlo. También podemos poner mas centros de recolección de PET y darles un nuevo uso recreativo como hacerlo en forma de macetas llamativas o otro tipos de manualidades."
Rashid
SK, Canada
"We will reduce the use of plastic cups and cutlery by using washable cups and cutlery. We will reduce the number of plastic bags by reusable and recyclable bags. We will use more water containers and fewer water plastic bottles."
Group submission
ON, Canada
"The kids completed a google form survey to see what single use plastic they currently had in their house and we brainstormed what they could replace it with. Below is the result of our survey. The summary page calculates total usage and explains how they are going to stop using single use plastics."
Ariane
ON, Canada
"En changeant les objets que nous utilisons quotidiennement en plastique par des objets en bois, en métal ou en verre. comme utiliser des pailles en métal au lieu de la paille en plastique, utiliser un sac en papier au lieu d'un sac en plastique, utiliser une brosse à dents en bambou au lieu d'une brosse à dents en plastique et nous pouvons utiliser des barres de shampoing au lieu du shampoing qui vient dans ces grands contenants en plastique et nous pouvons faire de même pour la crème pour les mains. Au lieu d'emballer les choses dans du plastique, nous pouvons simplement les mettre dans la boîte ou nous pouvons apporter nos propres contenants réutilisables au magasin pour récupérer nos aliments."
Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Veracruz
Mexico
"Los alumnos se organizaron en equipos para realizar diferentes tareas que promuevan la reducción del consumo de plásticos, el reciclaje y reutilización de los mismos. Algunos equipos se enfocaron en la elaboración de eco-ladrillos, en la cual emplearán botellas de pet u otros plásticos y las rellenarán con envolturas. Otros equipos diseñarán productos para reutilizar los plásticos, entre ellos la elaboración de lámparas con un mecanismo para generar su propia energía."
Aleena
ON, Canada
"I will stop using the water bottles at school and refill my reusable water bottle from the water fountain. At home, I drink from a water filtering system instead of bottled water. I will stop using one-time used plastic utensils such as plastic food wrap, plastic spoon, and fork at school, instead I use reusable lunch boxes, wooden spoons, cloth, or paper food wrap.nnnI will remind my parents to bring our own reusable shopping bags while they go grocery shopping. I will keep reminding them to choose plastic-free containers while buying foods such as glass-bottled or carton-bottled milk or beverages."
Aamya and Maanya
BC, Canada
"Our plan was to reduce the number of plastic bags and the toothbrush top that are used. Our idea for the bags is that we could carry the grocery in cardboard boxes, knitted bags, and paper bags. We decided that for the electric toothbrush top we can make it from glass, or add a special type of tree branch as well."
Group submission
ON, Canada
"We realized how much we throw out the one time use flossers. We collaborated and invented one that was made from wood. You would string in your floss every time you would use it so it could be used for multiple uses."
Group submission
Mexico
"Concientizar a la población mediante pláticas con la familia y vecinos para evitar el uso de plásticos en su comunidad, sustituyéndolos por papel, bolsas de tela, morrales, etc. Colectar el plástico que genera la comunidad y venderlo. Comprar productos a granel. Empezar con separación de residuos plásticos en sus hogares. Reciclado en casa del plástico que no se pueda vender. Elaborar productos del plástico para vender."
Mexico
"We propose to buy wooden toothbrushes instead of plastic ones.nWe can also use hard plastic water bottles instead of single-use plastic ones, and glass cups instead of styrofoam and disposable plastic cups. Other things to do are using cloth bags to replace soft plastic, plastic and grocery bags, and using metal cutlery when we have a family meeting. nThese things will reduce our plastic waste in a very significant way, and some of them might also save us some money, like avoiding single-use plastic bottles."
Demian, Emiliano
Mexico
"One of our solution is to use plastic biodegradable, use materials with bamboo or just use the less plastic posible. Like using cloth diapers instead of common diapers."
Karla Edith
Mexico
"Una de la soluciones podría ser invitando a la comunidad a reciclar, así como también practicando otras medidas para ayudar a mejorar el medio ambiente."
Group submission
QC, Canada
"Nous allons installer un bac de recyclage de masques pour trois classes et si cela fonctionne, on va le faire pour toute l'école."
Group submission
Mexico
"Reutilizar botellas de vidrio, cerámica y platico, con el fin de dejar de consumir por única vez una botella de plástico."
United States
"To reduce plastic we can replace it. We can use molds, paper, card board, and cloth. Instead of plastic bags, use paper ones. Instead of packaging things with plastic, use card board. That's not all you can do though. You can recycle plastic. There is a lot to do with plastic. You can make art, materials, and reuse it. It's not pollution until it is in the streets, oceans, or beaches. Pollution is a serious problem so reusing, "
Maddy
BC, Canada
"I will lessen how much take out food I get, request to have no plastic cutlery included and also try to choose restaurants that only use paper products for packaging instead. n• I will get a bamboo toothbrush instead of plastic ones.n• I will aim to always have my reusable bag with me so that I never need a plastic grocery bag.n• I will use my glass and metal reusable water bottles and avoid buying drink products that come in a plastic bottle"
Cristy Ninel
Mexico
"you can use an ecological bag or also the paper ones to reduce the plastic bags"
Janan
QC, Canada
"I will try to avoid using water bottles made out of plastic and I will only use metal refillable water bottles."
Conrado Cristobal
Mexico
"Reutilizar las botellas PET, así como los plásticos para embalaje, además de dar mantenimiento a la PC para alargar su vida útil"
Group submission
QC, Canada
"J'ai réfléchi alors, j'ai compris que les objets en plastique sont interdit soi dans les rivière soi dans les mer."
Group submission
QC, Canada
"Mon idée et que le gouvernement arrête (à peux-prêt) la production de plastique et le change pour du plastique biodégradable et le plastique que nous avons dans les océans nous les ramassons et nous allons les enterrer pour après en faire des parcs."
Willow
ON, Canada
"Ma solution est d'utiliser moins de sacs en plastique. Au lieu d'utiliser des sacs en plastique, j'utiliserai des conteneurs réutilisables ou des sacs en papier."
Group submission
ON, Canada
"We should make items like toothbrushes out of bamboo. It's a great alternative to plastic. You can make straws out of paper or metal and instead of bags, use cloth."
Maria
ON, Canada
"I have looked in my kitchen and everything is plastic almost! I have decided to reduce the plastic in my kitchen by learning to cook! I have so far learned to make candied Ginger! :) I have also started a website to encourage kids to eat more plastic-free."