(upbeat acoustic guitar music) - We live on a finite planet.

The sculpture is a very visual and evocative way to bring out for people that when we throw something away, there really isn't an away.

- The Shift Collaborative and Sustainable Pittsburgh collected thousands of straws from Pittsburgh businesses and restaurants.

And they've built Straw Forward's sea life sculpture.

They've put a spotlight on the impact of plastic waste and plastic pollution on our environment, specifically our oceans.

- Turns out we can't recycle straws.

They gum up the recycling machinery, generally speaking, though a lot of people think that you can.

So that's an important misconception that is one of the many things that come out of project like this.

We don't normally think about single-use plastic when it's one piece at a time.

- We saw an opportunity to use the member restaurants of Sustainable Pittsburgh restaurant program to collect straws and do something that would get some attention to how to use all plastics.

- The sculpture focused on the marine life cycle, really talking about what happens to these plastics.

They either wind up in landfills, or they wind up in sewers.

And they wind up in the ocean.

When they get into the ocean, they break down into small pieces, and then, they enter the food chain.

It's a big problem.

We are now faced with billions of tons of plastic pollution that's been created since around the 1950s.

(mellow keyboard music) We're at a point in time when we really need to be more thoughtful about not just the use of a product but also where it comes from and where it goes after we're finished with it.

One of our partners on this project, Best Buddies Pennsylvania, has really helped us make sure that the disability rights community has been part of these conversations.

It turns out plastic straws are actually essential for people with certain disabilities.

And other single-use plastic items are as well.

So I think this type of sculpture, this type of effort, is a really great way to bring the topic front and center and really foster that meaningful conversation.

- Shift Collaborative and Sustainable Pittsburgh approached us about being the host for the sculpture.

And it was a natural fit for us as it's putting the spotlight on an issue that folks might not often think about.

- [Anthony] We're reusing plastic that's used so much just because it comes in vibrant and appealing colors and sizes and flexibility.

So we will be able to fuse in those properties.

- [Joylette] I think it turned out pretty well.

Everything is a plastic item that is post-use.

So these are straws that are collected, plastic items that are dredged from the rivers, things donated from Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.

It's really, I think, a testament to the different ways we use plastic and what we do with it when we're not using it anymore.

♪ Big wide ship ♪ ♪ Seagulls were dancing all around ♪ ♪ I woke up with the sunlight on the sail ♪ ♪ It's such a precious gift to me ♪ ♪ The salty breeze and the waves ♪ ♪ The slow pace ♪ ♪ The salty breeze and the waves ♪ (mellow band music)