What is ocean plastic waste made of?

The problem of plastic in nature is a global crisis, particularly in the oceans, Every minute, about a dump-truck load of plastic goes into the oceans, polluting beaches, hurting wildlife, and contaminating our food supply.

The majority of the ocean plastic waste which enters the ocean each year is plastic. That’s because, unlike other trash, the single-use grocery bags, mineral water bottles, drinking straws, and yogurt containers, among eight million metric tons of the plastic items we toss won’t biodegrade. Instead of recycling, they can persist in the environment for a millennium, polluting our beaches, entangling marine life, and getting ingested by fish and seabirds.

plastic debris on the beach
plastic debris on the beach

Making the ocean plastic waste into recycling bins

In celebration of World Oceans Day, startup MerMade is officially launching its flagship product, a 65-gallon recycling cart made from 100 percent certified ocean plastic. The company is going to show the usage of waste ocean plastics by making them into a novel recycling bin. That operation is also an event of cleaning the ocean. MerMade’s recycling bins each contain 3.5 pounds of fully traceable ocean plastic sourced through OceanWorks. The warranty of each bin is ten years and they are 100 percent recyclable.

The coronavirus disease exacerbated the number of used plastic because many people rushed to purchase single-use plastic items in an effort to stop the spread of the diseases. MerMade saw how the rise in plastic debris was affecting the oceans and used its seed money to purchase 1000 pounds of certified ocean plastic from OceanWorks.

recycling bin
recycling bin

Ocean pollution and you

The fate of our ocean is not only up to the government or industry. Our individual, daily actions matter, too. You can start by reducing water pollution and runoff at home, being more mindful of your plastic consumption, or organizing a cleanup of your local waterway. You can also support the work of NRDC and other environmental advocacy groups as well as other businesses and organizations that work to recycling plastic waste.