Help 4,000 Students Reduce Plastic at School

At Unplastify, we reduce plastic pollution by empowering young people and educators to design and implement solutions within their own communities. Our approach focuses on generating direct, tangible impact in schools and local territories, while enabling long-term change.

Our projects are not theoretical: they translate into concrete actions that directly transform everyday environments: eliminating single-use plastics, introducing sustainable alternatives, and shifting everyday behaviors. Beyond individual actions, we aim for systemic change, where a single decision-maker (a student, a teacher, a school leader) can influence entire institutions and communities, multiplying impact far beyond the initial intervention.

We implement solutions through four main strategies:

• Materials / Products: Students design sustainable alternatives to replace plastic (e.g., reusable items, biodegradable materials).
• Campaigns: Students focus on awareness and behavior-change initiatives that engage entire communities in reducing plastic consumption.
• Entrepreneurship: Projects that create sustainable business models to replace single-use plastics. 
• Public Policy: Projects that aim to influence rules, regulations, or institutional decisions. 

This multi-layered approach allows us to address plastic pollution from behavior change to structural transformation.

Youth Innovation in Action

In Costa Rica, a student team from Colegio Humanístico Costarricense in Hojancha, from the 10th edition of the Unplastify Challenge for Schools, developed biodegradable bags made from gelatin as an alternative to single-use plastics.

As part of their process, they ran a pilot test that successfully replaced 12 plastic bags, validating the feasibility of their solution. Based on their research and estimates, considering their school community and current plastic bag consumption, they project the potential to reduce up to 1,050 plastic bags per year impacting over 70 people in their community.

This initiative shows the power of youth-driven innovation: students not only created a viable solution, but also positioned themselves as decision-makers capable of influencing consumption habits in their community.

A single idea can replace everyday plastic use, inspire peers, and scale through adoption. This is how systemic change begins: from one solution, to one community, to many.

You can help us multiply this impact. By supporting Unplastify, you enable more young people across Latin America to become agents of change, turning local ideas into scalable solutions.

With just USD 15, you support one student. With USD 60, you empower a team of four students to lead their own project and reduce plastic in their community.

Donate today and be part of a growing movement creating a plastic-free future.