The Ocean Cleanup has revealed plans to turn the plastic it has collected from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch into “beautiful, sustainable products”.
The Ocean Cleanup‘s founder and CEO Boyan Slat made the announcement last week that plastic collected by the project will be used to make useful products.
“We’re going to turn it into beautiful, sustainable products,” Slat said at the event on 12 December in Vancouver. “These are not going to be gimmicks. These are going to be products that you will actually want.”
Slat revealed the news standing alongside 60 large white bags filled with plastic the organisation has collected.
The ocean waste is the first material that the Dutch nonprofit has collected from the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch – an area located between Hawaii and California that contains an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, most of which are just a few millimetres in size.
Products will be entirely made of collected waste
Several other organisations are also making products from recycled plastic retrieved from the world’s oceans and rivers. This includes Parley for the Oceans which has created trainers, swimwear and football shirts with brands such as Adidas and Stella McCartney.
All the products will be produced under the Ocean Plastic brand, which was trademarked by company founder Cyrill Gutsch.
However, while these items are predominantly made from plastic that has been intercepted on its way into the ocean, The Ocean Cleanup’s items will be entirely made of waste sourced from the waters.
“I believe we can use this trash to turn a problem into a solution by transforming this unique material into a beautiful product,” said Slat, who added that he intends the products to raise awareness about The Ocean Cleanup project.
“As most people will never go to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, through these products, we aim to give everyone the opportunity to take part in the cleanup,” he said.