Prevented Ocean Plastic™ material:

• We work, either in partnership or by investment in infrastructure, in locations, countries and regions where independent data tells us there is an ocean plastic pollution problem.
• 80% of the plastic polluting our oceans comes from land-based sources in developing coastal communities. This is where Prevented Ocean Plastic™ work.
• Inspired by academic study, Prevented Ocean Plastic is material collected from regions which fulfil four criteria:
  • The area lacks proper waste management infrastructure and collection incentives.
  • The infrastructure is being overwhelmed by population growth and/or increased tourism.
  • There is a significant risk to wildlife and biodiversity if plastic contaminates their ecosystem.
  • It is found within 50km (30mi) distance of an ocean coastline or major waterway that feeds into the ocean.
• To be considered Prevented Ocean Plastic, each four of the criteria must be true at the same time.

Sources: Jambeck,J.R., Andrady, A., Geyer R., Narayan, R., Perryman, M., Siegler, T Wilcox, c., Lavender Law, K., (201s). Plastic waste inputs from land into the., ocean, Science, 347, p. 768-m. (1)

What does the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ programme do to ensure due diligence to such a claim?

• In order to substantiate the claim of Prevented Ocean Plastic™ in line with the two requirements outlined above, the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ programme uses traceability and audit trail documentation in line with industry best-practice. Standards are used to underpin this traceability and each shipment of material is traceable back to original collection centre, situated within the geographical distance requirement above.
• Prevented Ocean Plastic™ works with material users, such as packaging manufacturers, to ensure that material procured is delivered with full sight of traceability, but also that material is controlled and segregated through the manufacturer’s own production processes to maintain traceability. In this way, subsequent users of packaging containing Prevented Ocean Plastic™ at the stipulated rates of inclusion are afforded use of the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ claim and logo.
• Only organisations that have a formal License Agreement with the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ Licensing Team may use the logo and claim. Unauthorised display is prohibited and will be treated as a trademark infringement.
• The Prevented Ocean Plastic™ team works with adopters, including packaging manufacturers, brands and retailers, to ensure that the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ programme is described accurately and fairly, whilst also maintaining traceability of the programme, i.e. establish practices to ensure that the logo and the claim are only used in instances where Prevented Ocean Plastic™ is present, as per the above requirements.

Prevented Ocean Plastic™ has prevented over 50,000 tonnes of plastic from entering the ocean, the equivalent of more than 2.5 billion bottles:

• The equivalent number of bottles prevented from entering the ocean is calculated by dividing the total volume of material running through the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ programme by the relevant average weight.
• As part of our ongoing due diligence to substantiate and qualify these claims, the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ programme will routinely review bottle weights within the network by conducting weighing exercises of typical material deposited at a Prevented Ocean Plastic™ Collection Centre.
• These weighing exercises will be conducted every 3 years.
• Sample material to be reflective of typical material running through the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ programme, segregated into different colour streams without the presence of caps and labels.
• If average bottle weights show to have changed, adopters will be notified with updated calculations advising when new weights take effect. For any volumes previously procured, these remain under any previous average weight calculations, to avoid misleading or misrepresenting the number of bottles prevented.