Henkel partners with Waste Free Oceans to combat plastic waste in the seas

Henkel has announced a partnership with Waste Free Ocean aimed at cleaning plastic waste from oceans and rivers, with the collected waste being recycled and utilized within Henkel operations. According to the agreement, collected waste will be converted into over one million bottles for use in Henkel's Lovables detergent brand products. This agreement, which will run for at least 3 years, represents the largest partnership to date for the civil society organization. Through this partnership, the goal is to collect plastic waste from rivers, lakes, seas and oceans sufficient to produce 100 metric tons annually (approximately equivalent to the mass of an adult blue whale) of usable recycled material. Waste Free Oceans was founded in 2011 to collaborate with companies and other organizations to clean plastic waste from oceans and lakes worldwide and produce recycled products from these materials. Commenting on the agreement, Bernard Merkx, co-founder of Waste Free Oceans, stated: "Oceans and rivers are the sources with the richest biodiversity on our planet. However, we are not protecting them adequately." Merkx continued: "An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic enter our oceans annually; this is equivalent to placing 15 shopping bags filled with plastic on every meter of coastline on Earth. Our response at Waste Free Oceans is to form partnerships to solve this problem together. We are very pleased to be working with Henkel and to organize improvement initiatives together. This partnership is the largest we have developed with a single institution to date. Under this agreement, we aim to collect waste from our seas for at least 3 years sufficient to produce 100 metric tons of reusable material annually."

Waste collection from the Danube River and Mediterranean Sea

The partnership between Henkel and Waste Free Oceans will begin in spring 2018 with plastic waste collection from the Danube River. This activity will be conducted across different countries extending from Bulgaria to Hungary and Romania, with detailed measurement of collection points where most plastic waste accumulates due to currents and regional geography. Fishermen will use special equipment to scan the river and collect surface plastic waste, while volunteers will collect waste accumulated on riverbanks and beaches. With each departure from shore, fishing boats will be able to clean between 2 and 8 metric tons of waste. Waste collection operations on the Danube River will be followed by numerous other activities throughout the summer in the Mediterranean Sea.

Plastic waste collected from waters will be converted into sustainable packaging

Recyclable plastic waste will be used in bottles of the Lovables detergent brand, which launched in 2018 and provides special and gentle cleaning while protecting the fabric quality and colors of consumers' clothing. Lovables bottles are produced from 100% recycled material. Similarly, it is intended that over one million bottles used by the brand will be produced from recycled materials obtained through plastic collected via the Waste Free Oceans partnership. Dr. Thomas Müller-Kirschbaum, head of the Laundry and Home Care Business Unit Global Research and Development team at Henkel, stated on the matter: "Our partnership with Waste Free Oceans is an indication of our commitment to sustainable packaging and promoting recycling. We can raise consumer awareness about plastic waste in our oceans and rivers, implement protective measures, and jointly clean significant quantities of plastic that pollute the environment." Henkel's commitment to sustainable packaging is based on 3 core principles: less packaging and waste, better packaging, and enabling a circular economy. In 2017, Henkel used recycled plastic in the packaging of over 1.2 billion detergent, home care, beauty and personal care products on a global scale. This partnership with Waste Free Oceans, like Henkel's collaboration with social enterprise Plastic Bank, continues existing efforts in sustainable packaging and recycling. Lovables bottles are produced from 100% recycled material and are 100% recyclable. The brand now aims to use recycled plastic in over one million bottles through the Waste Free Oceans partnership. An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic enter oceans and rivers worldwide annually. A special rake-net boat called the "Garbage Catcher" is used. This device, developed by a fisherman, has been awarded France's Legion D'Honneur for its contributions to oil spill cleanup.