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In honor of World Ocean Day The Wellness Feed team has been delving deeper into ways that we can minimize the impact from one of our oceans’ biggest offenders- plastic. With 8 million tons of plastic entering our oceans yearly that kills 100,000 marine animals, plastic pollution has become a global crisis. So, what are we doing about it? One answer is to remove ocean plastic waste and turn it into something new. Earlier this month Matthew Woodward chatted with the chairman and CEO of Aquafil –a nylon manufacturer – about their nylon product made from recycled ocean plastics. Designers Abigail Lorick and Kevin Shelhamer shared how using materials made from recycled plastic are part of sustainable design solutions. And, today we’re chatting with the very people who remove plastic waste from our oceans- 4Ocean.
This B-Corp focuses on collecting ocean debris like single-use plastic from oceans, rivers and coastlines around the United Sates and Indonesia. Fully funded by the sale of their Fair Trade bracelets, t-shirts and other accessories, to date, 15 million pounds of trash have been recovered from oceans and coastlines. Tim Binder, 4Ocean’s Vice President of Global Brand Marketing shared his insight on the challenges crews face when collecting debris from waterways, the alarming statistics that he’s come across and the changes he’s made to create less plastic waste in his everyday life.
What challenges do you and your team face collecting trash from the ocean?
Cleaning up marine debris from the ocean, rivers, and coastlines can be quite challenging as there are several variables involved such as weather, currents, location, type of debris, etc. Depending on where you are cleaning, you need to have the right equipment. For example, if you are trying to clean debris out of a river, you need to ensure you have good weather, so the current is slower and there is less risk to your crews. In addition, you may require boom systems to stop plastic that may be traveling downstream so it is easier to clean it up in one location.
The utter amount of ocean plastic that currently exists and what is being added every day can be very overwhelming.
Other challenges include the overall cost of operation, transporting marine debris from remote locations back to warehouses, and the processing of the marine debris your crews recover. You need to stay motivated and optimistic that your efforts will result in a positive outcome and other entities will join the movement alongside you.
What is the most common type of plastic trash that you see?
The most common forms of plastic debris that we collect are plastic wrappers, cigarette butts, bags, bottles, straws, and food containers. We also come across a lot of fishing gear such as nets and buoys.
What alarming facts about plastic pollution have you come across?
- 18 billion pounds of plastic enter the ocean each year – and could triple by 2040.
- There is said to be over 100 million tons of trash in the ocean today.
- 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die each year.
- Only 9% of plastic has been recycled
- The US creates almost 40 million tons of plastic each year.
- 80% of the ocean waste originates from land-based sources.
- 10 rivers contribute 90% of the ocean plastic (8 in Asia and 2 in Africa).
- Most trash enters the ocean through rivers and water systems during storms.
- We’ve collected tens of thousands of shoes and flip flops and are looking for ways to reuse these materials.
What lifestyle changes have you made to become less reliant on plastic?
It really starts with stepping back and thinking about your daily life – an audit of sorts. The easiest examples must be around eating and drinking.
Simply no longer buying and consuming beverages in single-use plastic bottles was a large first step.
Then shopping – eliminating single-use plastic bags and trying to purchase products that do not have unnecessary plastic packaging (fruits, vegetables, milk cartons, eggs, etc.). It goes on from there including take-out containers and food delivery. All these changes are pretty simple for someone to make and could reduce the amount of plastic we consume by incredible numbers.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to be a part of the plastic-free movement?
Anyone can join this movement by simply starting small and exploring what works for you. Whether that’s doing your part to stop plastic pollution at its source or by sharing information on their social channels in an effort to raise awareness and educate others.
You can get involved in a number of other ways including joining or hosting a cleanup in your local neighborhood or at a beach, supporting ocean-friendly legislation like the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, supporting petitions like the 30×30 petition that aims to protect 30% of the land and ocean by 2030, or supporting other ocean-friendly organization like Surfrider Foundation or Oceanic Global.
What steps do you take to ensure that 4ocean bracelets are a fairly traded and closed loop product?
All 4ocean bracelets are hand-assembled in Bali by skilled artisans. They are made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials including less than 5% ocean plastic and glass. They are GreenCircled certified, which means the materials used in our products have been verified by a third-party organization. Each product we sell comes with our one-pound promise that our professional, full-time captains and crews will remove one pound of trash from the ocean, rivers, and coastlines. We are proud to offer a closed loop program which means once you are done with your product, we encourage you to send it back to us so we can ensure it is properly recycled.
What’s next for 4ocean for 2021?
We are focused on increasing our cleanup efficiencies and having a greater impact across the board in the years to come. We plan on pulling even more pounds by leveraging new technologies, expanding our operations, and partnering with like-minded organizations!
