This Anacortes Nonprofit Makes Custom Prosthetics From Ocean Plastic

An Anacortes couple designs prosthetics from ocean plastic using a 3-D printer

By Alanna Wight November 13, 2018

NEW_1

This article originally appeared in the November 2018 issue of Seattle magazine.

This article appears in print in the November 2018 issue. Click here to subscribe.

Chris Moriarity and his Wife Laura enjoyed walking along the beach near their Anacortes home, but were troubled by the amount of plastic that washed ashore. Inspired by YouTube videos about 3-D-printed prosthetic limbs and what he already knew about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Moriarity, who is pursuing an iMBA from the University of Illinois, had an idea: to use a 3-D printer to produce upper limb prosthetics from ocean plastic.

On Earth Day this year, in partnership with Washington CoastSavers, a nonprofit coastal cleanup organization, the couple launched the Million Waves Project, their home-based nonprofit that creates custom limb prosthetics from reclaimed ocean plastic using a 3-D printer. “It takes about 30 plastic water bottles to create one hand,” says Moriarity of the process, which gets its recipients online through a “limb request.”

Those recipients never pay a dime; the limbs are funded through donations. Many requests come from developing countries, but Moriarity notes that prosthetics can be prohibitively expensive even for those seeking them in the U.S., as was the case for 9-year-old Abbey, a gymnast from Seattle, who received a new hand in vibrant kid-friendly colors. So far, 18 limbs have been created, and five more are underway. The project, Moriarity says, has been “humbling. [It] brings together two unacceptable global issues and provides a sustainable and smart solution.”

Follow Us

Seattle: Again The Place To Be

Seattle: Again The Place To Be

Seattle nears pre-pandemic visitor levels in impressive turnaround

Visit Seattle released preliminary figures for 2023 at its annual meeting Wednesday, and found that the region hosted 37.8 million visitors last year, an 8.9% increase from 2022. That’s just 10% less than in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.

Foot Traffic Rises Again in Downtown Seattle

Foot Traffic Rises Again in Downtown Seattle

Downtown Seattle Association: Slow recovery continues

Nearly 1.9 million visitors came downtown last month. Downtown averaged 85,000 daily workers, a 16% increase from February 2023. That, however, is only 57% compared to the same period in 2020, right before the pandemic.

Cream of the Chop: Top Chef Kaleena Bliss

Cream of the Chop: Top Chef Kaleena Bliss

Washington native competes on popular Bravo cooking competition

Seattleites will spot a familiar face on the latest season of Top Chef, set in Wisconsin this year. Chef Kaleena Bliss competes for the coveted title on the longstanding cooking competition franchise, now in its 21st year.

Washington’s Woeful Gender-Pay Gap

Washington’s Woeful Gender-Pay Gap

Women across the state earn significantly less than men

Women across the state made $18,4000 less in average wages than men in 2022. New research from the National Partnership for Women and Families found that only Utah has a larger discrepancy, at $20,649.