PREVENTED Ocean Plastic is ‘on track’ in its bid to open 25 new collection centres by 2025, the organisation has revealed.
Coming as part of its 25 by 2025 initiative, the organisation plans to develop 25 new collection centres in at-risk coastal communities by 2025.
To date, there has now been six collection centres opened – and, appropriately for Earth Day, the organisation confirmed that ground has been broken on eight more, including one in a completely new geographical region – which will be revealed later this year.
Launched to coincide with World Oceans Day last year, Prevented Ocean Plastic’s 25 by 2025 initiative was met withan overwhelmingly positive response from the industry, asbusinesses recognised the need to develop and expand waste management infrastructure where it didn’t previously exist. Impact investment and other funding came from numerous sources, including Circulate Capital and USAID’s Clean Cities Blue Ocean initiative.
The six collection centres opened so far are located among the islands of Indonesia, which is one of the highest areas of risk for ocean plastic pollution, and a key source of activity for the Prevented Ocean Plastic programme. Since last year, there are now newly developed collection centres in North Jakarta, Bantul, Jambi, Padang, and Palembang, which join the previously announced Semarang site in conjunction with USAID’s Clean Cities Blue Ocean initiative. A further eight sites have broken ground this year, including ones in Bandung and Makassar, as well as the first in a new region to be unveiled later in the year.
Raffi Schieir, founder of Prevented Ocean Plastic, said,“While the ocean is a big part of who we are, and is rooted at the core of our name, it is our efforts on land in coastal regions that makes the difference.
“We must continue to develop waste management infrastructure where it is needed to prevent ocean-bound plastic waste, incentivise its collection, and support the local community, while providing high-quality materials to brands so they canincrease their recycled plastic usage in line with developing legislation and ESGs.
“We’re immensely proud of the work being done by everyone at Prevented Ocean Plastic HQ, and the team at Prevented Ocean Plastic South East Asia.
“As it stands, we’re on track to achieve our goal of 25 collection centres by the end of 2025. If businesses would like to join our mission, there is still plenty of opportunity to make a real impact. And consumers who want to support our work can do so by looking for the Prevented Ocean Plastic logo wherever they do their weekly shop. Their choice sends a clear message to brands that there is demand and value in the work we do.”
