Americans alone use 2.5 million plastic water bottles every hour. This roughly translates to 10.5 million tons of plastic waste each year. And, to make the situation even grimmer, we only recycle 1-2 percent of it. Most of the plastic that has ever been created still exists somewhere today, whether it be in landfills or floating in a huge trash pile in the middle of the ocean.

Fortunately, Dave Hakkens may have created a process that can change all of this. In 2013, he started his graduate project, Precious Plastic, where he created a machine that recycles plastic quickly and easily. Now, three years later, he has perfected several different versions of these machines. They are quite genius inventions, and fortunately, he's sharing them with the world.

Hakkens is encouraging everyone to use his designs to build their own plastic workshops. He has released all of his designs on his website. They are really basic, using materials anyone can get from their local hardware store. Likewise, Hakken's videos are extremely straightforward and detailed, allowing the builder to know exactly how to construct one of his designs. His machines allow anyone, anywhere to build their own plastic workshop.

Next, after building your machine, you can turn plastic into all sorts of new things, such as lampshades and bowls. Hakkens even details how exactly to make certain products, and also leaves enough room for you to experiment with making your own. With Hakkens' help, you can make cool new products safely and easily, all while lessening your plastic waste and helping the environment.

Of course, Hakkens encourages everyone to share his inventions and to share your own machines and creations, which will increase awareness about recycling and his mission. He already has over 40,000 shares; however, he needs a lot more to make a dent in the amount of plastic waste that humans generate.

I urge you to share his project, and, if you are inclined to do so, even set up your own plastic workshop. We could all do with a little less plastic in the world.