Triple force for change: Women lead world ocean clean-up
Key Highlights:
- Women are playing pivotal roles in a collaborative effort between Summit Systems, Chase Plastics, and Ocean Integrity to tackle ocean plastics pollution.
- Marta Podowska and Louise Aplin from Chase Plastics, along with Emma Gray, Kelsey Taylor, and Meghan Jordan from Summit Systems, are among the women driving the recycling initiative, from overseeing the recycling process to marketing RECOTHENE Ocean rPE pellets.
- Harri Jordan, managing the Indonesia operation for Ocean Integrity, leads efforts to clean up oceans, engage indigenous fishermen, and ensure recovered plastics are recycled rather than ending up in landfills or incineration.
Introduction
Each March, both the contributions of women to society and the ongoing campaign for gender equality are highlighted through Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. To mark these events, we are focusing on women working across an innovative three-way partnership to tackle ocean plastics pollution through the retrieval and recycling of plastic waste.
Women working together to make a difference
In recent years the many benefits of plastic as a lightweight, durable and versatile material - used across a variety of applications in a host of industries - have been overshadowed by discarded single use plastic packaging that finds its way into our rivers and oceans. The widely publicised ocean plastic pollution problem has emphasised the urgent need for improved waste management and greater investment in recycling facilities however, in the meantime, the need to clean our oceans remains.
Determined to help make a difference, two UK plastic businesses – Summit Systems and Chase Plastics have partnered with global enterprise Ocean Integrity, to recover and recycle Low Density Polyethylene (ocean LDPE) for re-use in the UK manufacturing supply chain. Whilst this sustainability initiative has been wholly embraced by each business, key to the success of the project is the hard work of several woman across all three organisations.
At the start of the ocean LDPE chain is Ocean Integrity. Dedicated to cleaning up the world’s oceans and to ensuring that 100% of recovered plastics are recycled and do not end up in landfill or incineration, their Indonesia operation is managed by Harri Jordan.
Harri is on a mission to address plastic pollution, foster sustainable practices and combat greenwashing. To achieve this she undertakes a number of practical roles in helping to organise the ocean clean-ups. This includes working with indigenous fishermen, providing them with nets, helping them input their data into the Ocean Integrity collection app and importantly ensuring that they get paid an above average local wage.
Once the recovered plastic has been landed, Harri oversees its delivery to the warehouse for washing, drying, sorting, bailing and auditing before it heads off for recycling and reintegration into the manufacturing supply chain. In the UK, Harri focuses her efforts on finding buyers and recyclers for the recovered material in addition to working with businesses to help them achieve plastic neutrality - especially if they manufacture products using virgin polymer.
Initially Ocean Integrity worked with ancillary equipment manufacturer Summit Systems to develop a feasible process for the recovery of ocean plastics. Harri then fostered a working relationship with established UK recycler Chase Plastics, whose 60+ years of plastic recycling experience made it an ideal partner for reprocessing the ocean LDPE recovered from the rivers and seas of Indonesia.
At Chase Plastics, the team working on the ocean LDPE initiative includes production manager Marta Podowska and chartered marketer Louise Aplin. Once the ocean LDPE is received on site, Marta oversees the recycling operation and the manufacture of RECOTHENE Ocean rPE pellets to the agreed specification.
To raise awareness of the Ocean rPE project and highlight the environmental benefits of using RECOTHENE Ocean rPE over virgin polymer, Louise liaises with Harri from Ocean Integrity and Emma Gray, Kelsey Taylor and Meghan Jordan at Summit Systems - which also distributes the Ocean rPE product in the UK - to provide finished product information and marketing support materials.
As sales manager – Materials at Summit Systems, Emma works with businesses to help achieve their sustainability goals including offering them alternative compounds to virgin polymers using recycled plastics. As marketing manager and marketing co-ordinator respectively, Kelsey and Meghan focus on promoting RECOTHENE Ocean rPE and the innovative three way partnership that make it possible across a variety of channels.
Societal pressure for greater sustainability and the diversion of waste has helped stimulate greater use of recycled polymers. Recycling plastics uses less energy than extracting, refining and producing virgin polymers which in turn conserves energy resources and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Aside from these environmental benefits, this ocean LDPE recycling initiative also benefits indigenous communities in Indonesia through deploying their traditional fishing skills to help stimulate local economies while also improving their local environment.
While this year’s theme for Womens History Month is ‘Women who advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion”, past themes have included ‘Women taking the lead to save our planet’. It this case, it’s good to see examples of both these themes in action.