It’s estimated that 80% of ocean plastic comes from “mismanaged waste” on land. In Guatemala, there’s just one official basurero, or garbage dump, for the entire country. It’s in the nation’s capital of Guatemala City and it’s currently the biggest landfill in all of Central America. Over a third of the country’s total trash ends up in the Guatemala City basurero each year, but not all of it stays there.

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Preventing plastic from entering the ocean is the crux of our strategy in Guatemala. Instead of sending vessels into the open ocean, our crews will focus on recovering plastic from the Rio Motagua and high-impact areas along the eastern coastline where massive amounts of trash accumulates.

Explore Our Strategy

It takes a lot of time and resources to open a new cleanup division. Thanks to the clean ocean movement, we purchased an empty tract of land in Guatemala where we could build an entire operational base from the ground up. Located in the thriving port city of Puerto Barrios, our newest base now features a new sea wall, boat ramp, weighing station, sorting facility, bailers, storage yards, and even a shipping container that’s been converted into a solar-powered office!

Take the Tour

Opening a new cleanup division really takes a village. It’s a slow and laborious process even at the best of times, let alone in the middle of a global pandemic. But thanks to the clean ocean movement and the herculean efforts of the crew members you’re about to meet, 4ocean Guatemala is not only open, but thriving.

Meet the Team

See what it’s like to live in an area that’s heavily impacted by plastic pollution. Join us as we travel hundreds of miles along the Rio Motagua from the Guatemala City basurero, or garbage dump, to El Quetzalito, a small village at the river mouth that’s working hard to become the last stop for river plastic and see how plastic pollution impacts quality of life not just for the residents of El Quetzalito, but communities around the world.

Visit El Quetzalito

After our recovered ocean plastic is weighed, documented, and sorted at our Puerto Barrios facility, it’s transported to Tecnologia Textil Avanzada, or Advanced Textile Technology (TTA), a recycling facility located just outside of Guatemala City. This is where our recovered ocean plastic is transformed into the 4ocean Plastic™ pellets we’ll use to make new products that raise awareness about plastic pollution and fund our global ocean cleanup operation.

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