Upcycling - 4ocean Plastic

4OCEAN UPCYCLING

Since 2017, our professional cleanup crews have recovered millions of pounds of trash from the ocean, rivers, and coastlines. 4ocean Upcycling is how we transform these materials into new and innovative products that will continue to raise awareness about plastic pollution, fund our global ocean cleanup operation, and reduce the need for virgin plastics in the future.

4OCEAN PLASTIC™

4ocean Plastic™ is a collection of recycled plastics that were recovered from the ocean by our professional, full-time cleanup crews and processed to create high-quality raw materials. 4ocean Plastic™ pellets are available in several resin types (including rPET, rHDPE, and rPP) and can be used to replace virgin plastics in a wide range of applications.

Use the image slider to explore types of 4ocean Plastic™

rPET (#1)

Recycled polyethylene terephthalate

rHDPE (#2)

Recycled high-density polyethylene

rLDPE (#4)

Recycled low-density polyethylene

rPP (#5)

Recycled polypropylene

rPS (#6)

Recycled polystyrene

rPolyamide 6 (Nylon 6)

Recycled polycaprolactam

Turning marine debris into new, upcycled materials isn’t as easy as you might think. In order to do this, and do it right, a very specific process must be followed.

We use an extrusion machine like the one you see in this diagram to process some plastics. In this example, we show you how we create rHDPE 4ocean Plastic™ pellets.

Here’s the steps for making 4ocean Plastic:

Flakes of HDPE ocean plastic enter the extruder through a device called a hopper
The extruder compounds and modifies the properties of our ocean plastic flakes
Molten plastic passes through a die and comes out in long, hot strands
The cooling bath returns the molten plastic strands to a solid state
Hardened plastic strands enter the pelletizer where a rotary blade chops them into small rHDPE 4ocean Plastic™ pellets

CERTIFICATION

Setting the new standard for upcycled ocean materials

The sustainability marketplace is crowded with companies claiming that their products are made from “ocean bound” plastics or recycled ocean plastic. Unfortunately, many of those same companies are unable to trace the origins of the plastic they’re using back to the ocean itself.

4ocean is the only company that hires full-time captains and crews to recover marine debris directly from the ocean, rivers, and coastlines 7 days a week. We follow a strict documentation process that allows us to trace each and every pound of trash back to its source. Not only can we tell you when and where our materials were recovered, we can also tell you which members of our crew recovered them and what tools and vessels were used to do it.

Our meticulous documentation process sets a new standard for accuracy and accountability regarding products made from upcycled ocean materials. GreenCircle Certified — an independent, third-party certification organization — will audit and verify that the entire chain of custody of 4ocean Plastic™ is sourced from oceans, rivers, and coastlines.

The slider below explains each step of our certification process in detail.

ORIGIN

GreenCircle will audit our documentation to observe our cleanups and verify that the materials entering our supply chain originate from the ocean, rivers and coastlines. Ocean materials are recovered by professional, full-time 4ocean cleanup crews.

MATERIAL MANAGEMENT

GreenCircle will audit our supply chain to verify how our materials are handled over the course of their lifecycle and will issue certificates for each product that has been verified to use 4ocean materials.

TRANSPORT

GreenCircle will certify that there is a clear chain of custody between 4ocean and our ocean material suppliers. This requires a verifiable paper and photo trail that fully documents the journey of our materials to their final destination, including equipment and vessels used.

MANUFACTURING

GreenCircle will audit and verify the entire manufacturing process for all 4ocean products claiming to use 4ocean Plastic™.

DATA

For each new product line containing our 4ocean plastic, GreenCircle will validate that we are the supplier of the raw material and follow it through the manufacturer’s supply chain to validate the delivery of the raw materials, raw material usage, finished goods, and finished good shipping.

APPLICATION

The launch of 4ocean Upcycling is an important step forward, but it’s only the first of many. Now that we have a clear understanding of the materials we’re recovering from the ocean, our research and development team can continue to explore additional applications for all types of 4ocean Materials. Our immediate plan is to utilize 4ocean Plastic™ in a new wave of products that will become available in Fall 2020, but we won’t stop there.

While we use 4ocean Materials to expand our line of consumer goods in the short term, we’re also looking at large-scale projects that would utilize massive amounts of our recycled ocean materials. They can be used in the construction of everything from furniture to schools; the possibilities are endless. However, it’s important to us that the projects we choose have a significant impact on the ocean plastic crisis, benefit the most people possible, and prevent these materials from re-entering the waste stream or worse, the ocean.

Ultimately, the goal of 4ocean Upcycling is to bring awareness to the ocean plastic crisis by upcycling our recovered ocean materials in new and interesting ways that will catch eyes and spark conversations. It’s our way of inspiring and empowering individuals and corporations to become more ocean-friendly and join us in building a future where humanity grows alongside nature, not at its expense.

Together, we can end the ocean plastic crisis.

Transforming ocean waste into products with a purpose