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Anna was walking along Castle Island Beach near her hometown in Boston one day when she noticed plastic scattered along the shore. She bent down to pick it up and realized there was much more plastic than she originally saw. There were lots of tiny little pieces too small to spot or handle. This is when Anna realised a tool was needed to spot plastic on the shores and seabed. Anna decided she was going to be the one to invent this tool.
She attended lectures and workshops at her nearby university, got books from local libraries and watched videos on YouTube. Then, using the skills Anna had learnt, she designed a robot that uses infrared light to detect plastics and identify where they are accumulating. Anna’s idea is that once she has mapped out where the plastic is accumulating, she can plan how to clean up the ocean floor, starting with the most affected areas.
On top of Anna’s amazing robot creation, she wrote a book called ‘Microplastics and Me’ to spread the word about microplastics. She hopes to inspire young change-makers to follow in her footsteps by identifying a problem, researching it and acting upon it. Anna says, ‘I encourage my fellow students to visit local libraries, universities, environmental and other organisations to find out about the pollution issues facing your own community.’
