HP commits to keeping plastics out of the ocean

HP has joined NextWave Plastics, a consortium of technology and consumer-focused companies aiming to develop supply chains that “turn off the tap” when it comes to plastic entering oceans.

Since announcing in September 2016 that it would join the First Mile Coalition to clean up plastic waste and create economic opportunity for the people of Haiti, HP and its partners have built an ocean-bound plastics supply chain using bottles collected in Haiti. As well as now joining NextWave, the company has sourced 250 tonnes of ocean-bound plastics from Haiti that instead of entering the Caribbean Sea are being upcycled into original HP ink cartridges. Ikea has joined HP in the NextWave Plastics, bringing the number of collaborating companies up to 10. “If we sit on the sidelines or work within our own four walls, the fate of our ocean is well known to us,” said Dune Ives, executive director of Lonely Whale and managing director of NextWave. “With rising levels of plastic pollution, increasing warming and acidification, our ocean is in crisis. In turn, our future is at risk. Where others are planning for change, NextWave companies are making a difference today through the development of commercially viable and operational ocean-bound plastics supply chains and integration of this non-virgin material into products and packaging. Their work has only begun and the hill to climb is high, but by working within and across industries, these global leaders will inspire the change on and in the water that is necessary to ensure a healthy planet.” There is currently more than 86m tonnes of plastic in the ocean, and each year up to 12m tonnes of new plastic is added to that. NextWave member companies are on track to have diverted a minimum of 25,000 tonnes of plastics - the equivalent to 1.2bn single-use plastic water bottles - from entering the ocean by the end of 2025.