The Ocean Cleanup chooses DNV GL to verify the origin of plastic products.

The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch nonprofit organization, is developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. The first batch of ocean plastic was brought ashore after its mission to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the world's largest accumulation of plastic waste, covering an area of 1.6 million square kilometers.

The batch of plastic waste brought ashore will be transformed into products. These products will be sold so that the organization can raise money to contribute to the financing of further ocean cleanup. The Ocean Cleanup has chosen DNV GL as its partner to confirm and verify the origin of these future plastic products.

"To bring transparency to the market, we asked DNV GL to create a standard. DNV GL has tracked and will continue to track every step of ocean plastic to confirm whether the plastic in our products truly 100% comes from the ocean," said Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup.

From plastic waste to product

The Ocean Cleanup aims to recycle plastic waste, with the main goal of funding further ocean cleanup. The goal is to develop attractive, sustainable products made from material collected in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. To date, no products made entirely from marine-derived plastic have been marketed. This appears to be another ambitious challenge for the organization.

The verification of Ocean Plastic

Products labeled as ocean plastic may not be completely sourced from the ocean. Currently, there is no requirement for an independent third party to verify that the material comes from the ocean. To make the work even more transparent, the origin of the material used in The Ocean Cleanup's products will be verified by DNV GL.

DNV GL has been drafting requirements and verification processes for a year and a half. These processes will enable optimal traceability and clarify how ocean plastic is defined, making this rapidly developing market more transparent. As a next step, the requirements will be developed into a standard, open to all parties interested in certifying products made from ocean plastic. It will ensure that the origin of recovered plastic is defined and verified so that consumers can be confident that products made from the plastic removed from the ocean actually come from it.

"Creating trust through standards and independent verification has been DNV GL's work and mission for more than 155 years. It has always been our goal to meet challenges and contribute to safer and more sustainable outcomes in a transparent manner. When purchasing products verified by DNV GL, consumers can have complete confidence that it is an ocean plastic product and that they are contributing to a solution against plastic," said Luca Crisciotti, CEO of DNV GL-Business Assurance.