Today, Prevented Ocean Plastic™ announces it has collected over two and a half billion plastic bottles from coastlines at risk of plastic pollution, to be recycled into high quality, fully traceable rPET. Since the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ programme launched in late 2019, more than 50,000 tonnes of plastic have been prevented from reaching the ocean.
Prevented Ocean Plastic™ collected its second billion bottles in less than half the time it took to collect the first billion, a direct result of its expansion of plastic recycling infrastructure worldwide. Prevented Ocean Plastic™ has been building infrastructure on coastlines that have historically lacked systems to deal with their plastic waste, increasing collection in areas most in need since its inception. In June 2023, the organisation announced its mission to expand these efforts and open 25 high-capacity plastic collection centres by 2025, focusing on responsible sourcing at collection and sortation.
Since announcing its mission, Prevented Ocean Plastic™ has opened two centres, including one in the port city of Semarang, Indonesia, with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and one in North Jakarta, Indonesia, the result of an ongoing partnership with Singapore-based circular economy investment firm Circulate Capital. A further eight centres are currently under construction, with two in Indonesia expected to open in Spring 2024. The new builds will create hundreds of new jobs in the region as well as allowing for the collection of thousands of tonnes of plastic each month.
The Prevented Ocean Plastic™ model is dedicated to fostering a just transition toward responsible sourcing at the collection and sortation levels of the recycling industry. Collection centres are built to rise to UNEP’s call to action to transform the plastics economy towards a circular model that is fair, just, and inclusive, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Raffi Schieir, Director of Prevented Ocean Plastic™, said:
“What sets the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ Programme apart is that we’re involved in the grassroots level build of collection centres that are fit for purpose, where every bottle can be counted, and every person counts. We’re taking a true step forward to fill the recycling market’s clear need for proper quality plastic collection and sortation with dignity.
I am so impressed by the first collectors doing the important work to clean their coastal regions, and proud of our regional affiliates, and the team in our Research Centre in London working every day for positive change. Collecting 2.5 billion bottles in under five years is a symbol to the market of what is possible. This is a real-world example of how the much talked about just transition can work in practice.”