As a company, we like to follow other companies and organizations that are doing right by our planet. One of those is the Ocean Cleanup, started by Boyan Slat, who is seriously working towards diminishing our plastic waste crisis in our oceans and rivers in a major way. Since launching back in 2013, they have engineered the technology to collect ocean plastic, river plastic, and have successfully collected TONS.
The next step in their process is to turn those plastics into products. Read on for the 10 steps of their Plastic Journey!
1. Catch, Secure & Track the Plastic
After the plastic is retrieved from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it is dried, bagged, and weighed. Then, it is tagged to insure traceability of where that plastic came from.
2. Plastic Transportation
It is then delivered to facilities that can transform it into product.
3. Plastic Pre-Sorting
The types of plastics caught must be sorted and recycled separately.
4. Plastic Recycling
After pre-sorting, the next steps specific to the recycling process are further sorting, shredding, washing, drying, and extrusion. Extrusion is the melting of the plastic to be molded into product.
5. Plastic Testing
At this stage, the plastic is checked to make sure it meets the proper safety and regulatory requirements to be processed further.
6. Material Creation
Additives are added, such as stabilizers and pigments, to allow for optimum performance in the final product.
7. Product Manufacturing
With the material ready for end-product creation, manufacturing takes place!
8. Shipping & Logistics
The product is shipped directly to the consumer from the facility where it is made.
9. In Your Hands
The end-user receives the product!
10. Continuation of Cleanup
The process will continue to reduce the Great Pacific Garbage Patch until it is no longer.
Stay tuned for updates! We are still unaware of the products that the Ocean Cleanup is planning to produce from the plastic collected. Once we know, we will share with all of you!
