The pitch from 4ocean goes like this: Buy one of its bracelets or other recycled plastic products, and they’ll remove a pound of trash from the ocean. Back in 2018, they hit the 1 million mark. That number now totals more than 7.7 million pounds of trash removed, the Florida company says, and leaders are ready to take on more sea garbage in Guatemala.
4ocean plans to start this month to remove plastic pollution and marine debris from the south-of-Mexico republic, including on the Rio Motagua, dubbed as one of the most polluted rivers in the world.
4ocean says it will work out of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala’s largest port, and also target Amatique Bay and the so-called “Trash Islands,” floating about 30 miles from the Caribbean island of Roatan.
Tens of millions of pounds of ocean trash is believed to be floating in and along Central America’s ocean and coastlines, 4ocean says. Due to minimal infrastructure and multiple river systems flowing from city centers directly into the oceans, Central America is among the top producing regions of ocean plastic pollution.
Purpose-Driven
4ocean was founded in January 2017 as a “purpose-driven business” and already has cleanup operations in Boca Raton, Florida (where it’s headquartered in the U.S.), along with Indonesia and Haiti.
Read More: Climate Cardinals Plans To Double Its Science Translation Efforts With New Google Backing
“At each of these locations our crews are on the water every day, removing plastic pollution from the oceans and coastlines with the help of our various fishing vessels and other equipment,” says Andrew Cooper, a surfer who co-founded the company with Alex Schulze.
4ocean plans to employ more than 20 local workers for its Central America expansion and use six trash-collecting vessels, along with boom collection systems at large river mouths to limit pollution from entering the ocean.
They’ll also use a 4ocean Mobile Skimmer, designed to remove large amounts of debris in high-density areas.
The company employs more than 300 people in the United States, Indonesia, Haiti and now Guatemala.
A Lot of Bracelets
4ocean says its global cleanup efforts are 100% funded through the sale of its products, including $20 bracelets.
Reps say the 7.7 million pounds of ocean plastic and other marine debris collected so far has been documented and audited by the Better Business Bureau.
“The clean ocean movement has continued to grow, and that growth has been fueled by everyday people around the world,” Cooper says.
“When someone purchases a 4ocean product, they are not only helping to strengthen our international cleanup operations and the removal of plastic from the oceans and coastlines, they are also funding our ability to develop innovative technologies and new sustainable products like reusable water bottles, shopping bags and apparel.”
Those bottles, bags and apparel also are for sale, with the same one-pound promise as the bracelets.
“The most important thing for people to realize is that while every bracelet sold does fund the removal of one pound of trash from the ocean, it’s not the bracelets themselves that will solve the ocean plastic crisis,” Cooper explains.
“4ocean is a movement representing systemic change both upstream and downstream. When you buy a bracelet, you are wearing your badge and pledge to live a more sustainable life and the pound that you remove allows anyone, anywhere in the world to participate in a meaningful way.”
The company says revenue from its products goes to pay its 300-plus employees, raise brand awareness through marketing, donate to nonprofit marine conservation organizations, research and develop technology and products, and purchase the vessels and equipment used around the world.
Recycled Content
The bracelets are hand-assembled in Bali and made from post-consumer recycled materials. The bracelet cord is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles and the beads are made from 100% recycled glass bottles. About 5% of the plastic comes from 4ocean cleanups, due to contamination constraints, Cooper says. The goal is to increase that percentage.
“Recycling everything we can is our highest priority. Collected plastic that has been affected by extensive (ultraviolet) rays is currently being sorted and then stored in our various facilities. Our teams are constantly working alongside our partners to determine the most efficient ways to better utilize and recycle the material we collect.”
Cooper adds that the Central America expansion doesn’t mean the company will scale back elsewhere.
4ocean hosts Community Beach Cleanups in various domestic coastal locations. To date, those include cleanups in New York, California, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Florida, Mexico and British Columbia, Canada. The pounds collected in the community cleanups aren’t counted in the 7 million-plus total.
“These events encourage local community members to lend a hand in the ocean plastic crisis while learning about the different types of plastic we come across each day, where it comes from, and how to either recycle or eliminate those items from their lives,” Cooper says.