Waste Free Oceans partners with Henkel to fight marine plastic litter

Waste Free Oceans has announced a new partnership with Henkel to remove plastic waste from oceans and rivers, transforming it into over a million bottles for the brand Lovables laundry.

The collaboration will run for a minimum of three years with the aim to remove enough plastic from rivers, lakes, seas and oceans to produce 100 tonnes of usable recycled material each year.

The partnership will begin by collecting plastic waste from the Danube River in spring 2018, where volunteers will gather plastic waste from the river banks and beaches, while teams of fishermen trawl the river using a device that removes between 2 and 8 tonnes of marine litter on each journey.

The collections along the Danube will be followed by activities at several locations in the Mediterranean Sea during the summer.

Once recycled, the plastic will be used in bottles for the Lovables laundry brand, which aims to include recycled marine plastic litter from Waste Free Oceans in over a million bottles.

“Our partnership with Waste Free Oceans is another step forward in our commitment to promoting sustainable packaging and recycling,” says Prof. Dr. Thomas Müller-Kirschbaum, Head of Global Research and Development in Henkel’s Laundry and Home Care business unit.

“Together, we can remove a meaningful amount of plastic from the environment, while also raising consumer awareness of marine plastic litter and the need to better protect our oceans and rivers.”

Bernard Merkx, Co-Founder of Waste Free Oceans, said: “An estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans every year, which is the equivalent of 15 grocery bags filled with plastic for every meter of coastline in the world. We’re now delighted to be working with Henkel and organising remediation actions together.”