DNV GL launched a standard which verifies authenticity (Chain of Custody) of abandoned ocean and river plastic and build consumer trust in new products made from reclaimed plastic.
Plastic debris is a severe problem that heavily impacts the marine environment, with the maritime industry loosing about €235 million a year from plastic pollution. Therefore, extracting the plastic from oceans and rivers is only the first step in addressing one of the biggest threats to the world’s waters. There are currently trillions of pieces of plastic in our oceans with an estimated 8 million pieces added every day.
Nicola Privato, Global Operations and Technical Director, DNV GL – Business Assurance stated that
Using the abandoned plastic into new products is essential. By turning trash into something valuable, that consumers are willing to pay for, enables a circular business models that not only resolves the problem of how to dispose of the trash.
DNV GL joined forces with the Ocean Cleanup, enabling consumers to distinguish against wrongful claims of authenticity or share of reclaimed plastic in products.
Accordingly, it is stated that the DNV GL standard is the first of its kind, guaranteeing the authenticity, origin and amount of reclaimed plastic in a product. This kind of traceability and transparency must be built from the start of the value chain, requiring an end-to-end verification process from extraction offshore to the onshore landing, transportation, manufacturing and sales.
Although the Ocean Cleanup was the first to apply the best practices, the standard is public and available to any organization for application and certification.