Packaging supplier Groupe Guillin has formally unveiled an exclusive European partnership with recycling programme Prevented Ocean Plastic, a move it says will increase the amount of reclaimed materials used in its plastic products.
“This agreement enables us to integrate very high-quality recycled content that has been ethically and responsibly sourced from areas such as the South Pacific – including Indonesia, which is the second largest contributor to marine pollution,” the group said in a statement.
The process of obtaining the plastic is “robustly audited and certified” by OceanCycle, an independent body that guarantees full product traceability and ethical standards, as well as protecting the human rights of everyone involved in supplying the material.
“The partnership with Prevented Ocean Plastic is both an important commitment and a positive action, with immediate global impact,” the company continued. “In environmental terms, 500m plastic bottles each year are prevented from polluting the local environment and ultimately the ocean. At the same time local communities benefit from the programme, which enables the development of recycling infrastructures in areas classified as ‘at risk’ and offers an income to the bottle collectors, and employment in the logistics and production processes.”
It added: “By incorporating Prevented Ocean Plastic into our packaging, we want to raise awareness that plastic, if collected, sorted and recycled, is not a waste, but a resource.”
