At first glance, a model sailboat skimming across a park pond is just that; a model sailboat. You can buy it and put it together. But with one particular sailboat, there's other work involved.

"You open up the box and you can't just build it," says Dane Scarborough. "It's not complete. It's not ready to go."

Scarborough is the inventor of Uberstix, a set of plastic pieces that transform into workable model toys. The catch? You need to find recycled materials first. There's a scavenger list of things needed to make the toy work on each Uberstix box. Scarborough calls it "up-cycling," and says he gives little pieces of trash a higher purpose.

"Any kid will back me up on this," says Scarborough. "Using paper cups and water bottles and Popcicle sticks and a shopping bag to build a pirate ship that actually sails is a higher purpose."

But there's another side to Uberstix. It's about more than just building a sailboat of a plastic grocery sack. Uberstix will connect with some of your other favorite toys like Legos and Knex. You can also get into the world of architecture by building structures up to eight feet tall.

Still, it's the "green" aspect of Uberstix that's drawing the highest praise.

"We are regarded by a lot of people in the industry as the greenest toy company out there," says Scarborough.

That's a plus for parents who want their kids to learn a little "green living" while playing with their toys.