OPX BY #TIDE®
QUALITY PLASTIC RECYCLATES
Plastic pollution in the oceans is an acute environmental problem.
OPX by #tide® is an innovative solution for ridding the
oceans of plastic waste. What is behind it and how does it work?
The oceans are the world’s largest natural water reservoirs. Ocean conservation safeguards their indispensable role in the ecosystem and protects the wonderful, abundant life beneath their surface. Yet every year, 12 million tonnes of plastic waste enter our oceans, polluting marine habitats and causing billions of francs worth of environmental damage. Unlike microplastic, plastic waste is relatively easy to collect. Unfortunately, sea turtles also do so as they mistake transparent plastic bags for tasty jellyfish, thereby endangering their own lives.
Collect and reuse
The Swiss company Tide Ocean SA has come up with a circular solution to this global problem. It creates incentives to collect the plastic waste for residents of particularly affected regions such as coastal areas in Southeast Asia. The waste consists of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE). Once it has been gathered, the waste is sorted, cleaned and processed into high-quality recyclate. This recycled plastic is then integrated into the manufacture of new products, thus creating a closed recycling loop. The circular economy is a key component of OPX by #tide®, as it aims to preserve resources, minimise waste and promote the sustainable use of materials.
OPX BY #TIDE®
Upcycling pays off
The integration of OPX by #tide® into the circular economy pays off in multiple ways. The following advantages are particularly important:
Resource conservation: Reusing plastic waste from the oceans helps to conserve natural resources and cut the need for new plastic.
Waste minimisation: The initiative actively reduces the quantity of plastic waste in the oceans by collecting and recycling it and using it in new products.
Sustainability: #tide ocean material® upholds the principles of the circular economy by extending the life cycle of materials and promoting the trend towards a sustainable, resourceconserving economy.
Positive impact a motivator
OPX by #tide® is already having positive effects on the environment in coastal regions and the communities that live there. The collection of plastic waste not only helps to combat environmental pollution in the water and on the coasts; it also raises awareness of the issue in general. In addition to creating jobs, #tide® provides training for the local populations in the form of workshops, for instance in Thailand on behalf of the WWF. It is particularly the people who live in economies that rely on nature (fishing, agriculture near water) who feel the positive impact of these measures in their everyday lives.
Safeguarding the future with OPX by #tide®
X by #tide® is an innovative initiative, but the challenge remains. Researchers currently estimate the area of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,
the largest patch of plastic in the North Pacific Ocean, to be around 1.6 million km² – roughly the area of Central Europe. Without global
cooperation between authorities, industry and consumers, the deluge of plastic cannot be stopped. As a part of the solution to this problem, OPX by #tide® is a truly pioneering solution.