Ocean Cleanup delivers 55-ton ocean plastic haul for Kia
Canadian Plastics
Canadian Plastics Recycling Sustainability editor pickThe waste plastic was taken to Victoria, B.C., and a proportion will be used in future Kia electric vehicle models.
Photo Credit: The Ocean Cleanup
Automaker Kia plans to use recycled plastic from a 55-ton haul recently reclaimed from the Pacific Ocean in its new electric vehicle (EV) models.
The amount of plastic reclaimed by Kia’s global partner, The Ocean Cleanup, marks the next phase in a seven-year global partnership announced in April 2022 as part of South Korea-based Kia’s transformation into a sustainable mobility solutions provider.
The Ocean Cleanup, the international non-profit project with the mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, landed its plastic catch at Victoria, Vancouver Island, B.C. Said to be a record amount of plastic netted by The Ocean Cleanup, the waste plastic was removed from the Pacific Ocean using The Ocean Cleanup’s System 002 extraction technology.
Immediately after bringing the record haul to shore, The Ocean Cleanup announced the introduction of its new System 03 technology. Almost three times larger than System 002, System 03 can capture much larger quantities of plastic at a lower cost per kilogram removed on a continuous year-round basis. It also features more sophisticated environmental monitoring and safety technology, such as a new Marine Animal Safety Hatch designed to protect marine life. This scale-up marks the next phase towards The Ocean Cleanup’s objective of removing 90 per cent of floating ocean plastic by 2040.
Recycling of the plastic will begin shortly, and Kia will use a proportion of the material in future models. Kia officials said this policy aligns with its commitment to provide sustainable mobility solutions that have a measurable impact on achieving sustainability at scale.
“The record catch of plastic brought to shore by The Ocean Cleanup is tangible proof of how technology can deliver sustainable solutions at scale,” said Charles Ryu, senior vice president and head of the Global Brand & CX Division at Kia Corp. “Initiatives such as this one perfectly align with Kia’s transition to a sustainable mobility solutions provider and our Plan S strategy, through which we embrace the needs of our customers and the protection of our environment by acting as a responsible corporate citizen.”
