Spectra packaging expands Prevented Ocean Plastic range

Spectra Packaging has announced that from 1st September 2023, it will extend its Prevented Ocean Plastic offering to include rHDPE and rPET.

Spectra claims its HDPE delivers improved clarity, cleaner colours, reduced inclusions, and exceptional quality, thanks to the programme's meticulous collection and sortation processes at no extra cost to customers.  

Figures suggest that 11 million metric tonnes of plastic enter the ocean annually, with estimates predicting a continuation of the current trajectory resulting in an ocean plastic flow rise of 29 million metric tons annually. The company claims that this is ‘sobering’ and shows why solutions such as those provided by the Prevented Ocean Plastic programme are vital in curtailing the amount of plastic waste entering our oceans and waterways. 

Since introducing Prevented Ocean Plastic into its rPET supply chain last September, Spectra says it has brought in over 320 tonnes of the materials, which equates to nearly 13 million plastic bottles recovered from at-risk coastal regions such as Southeast Asia, South America, the Galapagos Islands, the Mediterranean and Central America & Caribbean. 

Jonathan Powell, Sales Director at Spectra, said: "With an exciting possibility to widen our commitment to include all our recycled bottle manufacturing, we aim to increase this impressive figure even more, making a significant difference in the fight against environmentally harmful ocean plastic pollution".  

As well as enormous environmental advantages, Prevented Ocean Plastic (POP) provides substantial socio-economic benefits, carefully built to help coastal communities in developing regions such as Southeast Asia, South America, the Galapagos Islands, the Mediterranean and Central America & Caribbean.  

The company claims that the POP programme finances and supports bottle collectors, collection centres and local recyclers at the forefront of ocean plastic waste with consistent and reliable funding of up to $100,000 daily.

Prevented Ocean Plastic is a high-quality, certified recycled plastic collected from coastal areas at risk of ocean plastic pollution.  

These ocean-bound plastics are scientifically defined as those found within 50km (30 miles) of an ocean coastline or major waterway that feeds into the ocean, where the country or region lacks waste management infrastructure and collection incentives. 

Within these regions, infrastructure is overwhelmed by population growth or tourism, resulting in a significant risk to wildlife if plastic contaminates their ecosystem. The material meets regulatory health and safety standards, is traceable back to its source and is easily identifiable by its distinctive triangular on-pack logo.