The stars of MTV’s hit reality show “The Buried Life” partnered with last weekend’s Plastics Are Forever International Youth Summit, in an effort to bring attention and action to the high levels of toxic plastics in our world’s oceans.

The Buried Life stars created multiple Youtube videos asking their audience to submit their best ideas and strategies for solutions to plastic pollution, with the top 100 student teams winning a trip to the conference. The event brought filmmakers, scientists, ocean researchers, non-profit organizations and media experts together from around the globe to educate one another on becoming an expert on reducing plastic in their communities.

Speaking of plastic bags in one of their videos, Buried Life star Ben Nemim says, “We use it for a second, but it lasts forever,” citing that in California, 600 non-biodegradable plastics bags are used every second.  Viewers are then encouraged to create action plans on how to reduce plastic use in their communities, and keep these plastic bags, and the two million plastic bottles that are used each day in the United States out of our oceans.

This is not the first time the Buried Life Crew has taken a pro-environment, pro-conservation stance.  Past episodes of the Buried Life feature the cast partnering with citizen activists working to protect the environment on issues such as deforestation and corporate responsibility.

In order to keep the plastic pollution issue timely and engaging the Buried Life’s videos use a lot of humor to highlight the massive amount of trash in our oceans, polluting our marine life and our health.   And in order to keep last weekend’s Plastics Are Forever Youth Summit lively and upbeat, with a focus on positive solutions, event organizers enlisted the assistance of professional surfer and activist Kyle Thiermann, who lead workshops on how to turn your ideas into action.

Partnering with the Plastics Are Forever Youth Summit is a natural fit for The Buried Life team, whose reality TV show asks the question, “What do you want to do before you die?”   In an interview with the Associated Press, Buried Life cast member Jonnie Penn said “It’s aspirational.  Our generation around the world is consistent in that we all want big things, really big things.”  Castmate Dave Lingwood continues, “We just wanted to have fun and make a difference.”  Reversing the plastic pollution trend is definitely a big thing, but through partnering with Plastics Are Forever, and educating and empowering a younger generation to think creatively, the Buried Life may just have a very large impact.