— By Andru Shively — 

Global Recycling Day came and went again on 18 March, but the global plastics waste crisis is a year-round observance. A new campaign calling for action and reform is getting a helping hand, or claw, from a little critter determined to keep his oceanside home clean: a hermit crab named Zuzu.

When a clean-up crew leaves behind a plastic bottle on his beach, Zuzu bravely swaps out his shell for it – often a death sentence for his real-life counterparts – and embarks on a journey across land and sea to get the scrap item recycled. But this beached bottle is only the beginning for the “little crab with a big mission”.

JoinZuzu was launched by SC Johnson in response to a survey of 3,000 American adults that the US household cleaning brand owner commissioned, which found that while 83% were “concerned about the scale” of the plastics waste crisis, only 28% felt they had a “strong understanding” of how to help; 86% also thought that businesses should do more to combat the issue.

The online campaign – a collaboration with US environmental nonprofits Conservation International and EarthEcho International and Canadian bottle-collecting social fintech Plastic Bank – aims to raise awareness and provide the public with practical tips on reducing plastics waste at home.

Related: Recycling goes viral in Colombia

Zooming out, the public is also invited to sign a petition to the US Congress calling for better recycling solutions in the country, in particular a nationwide extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme like that in neighbouring Canada. At press time, the petition had reached more than 15,000 signatures of a stated goal of 200,000.

On the 18th, Zuzu brought his big mission to the Big Apple, where the little crustacean was spotted onscreen at the Oculus transportation hub with a message for New Yorkers.