Washed Ashore, an Oregon NGO, takes advantage of too much plastic in the ocean - You can too

An estimated 8 million tons of plastic are additionally dumped each year to the already 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic trash, becoming an increasingly larger threat to marine species and ecosystems. A nonprofit organization in Oregon has found a way to take some of that plastic and turn it into a teaching tool.

The Washed Ashore Project has made the education and awareness of this ongoing challenge its mission through the creation of their found object sculptures, but they need support to continue their work. The donations given to the project will help pay employees, buy materials for the sculptures, and create educational materials.

Launched in 2010 and led by artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi, the art created takes pieces of plastic found from the ocean and transforms them into different sculptures of marine animals such as a Styrofoam coral reef and a plastic bottle sea jelly. There's even a sculpture dubbed "Henry the Fish" made from, among other things, lighters, beach shovels, and toothbrushes.