OceanCycle Certification & Ocean-Bound Plastic

You’ve seen us say that the plastic we recycle to make ZenWTR bottles is “Certified Ocean-Bound Plastic”.
In fact, we’re the first beverage brand in the world using 100% Certified Ocean-Bound Plastic (Score one for the good guys!)

Here’s what that means:

Ocean-Bound Plastic, sometimes referred to as “Prevented Ocean Plastic”, is defined as plastic found near ocean coastlines or major waterways that feeds into the ocean, in a country or region which lacks infrastructure or waste management.
We believe the most effective way to tackle marine plastic is to prevent it from reaching the ocean in the first place. By sourcing plastic bottles for recycling that are Ocean-Bound, we are preventing them from making it to the ocean where the likelihood of recovering them is very slim.

While we would also like to use plastic retrieved from the ocean for our bottles, unfortunately, exposure to the sun and salt degrades plastic making it ineligible to be recycled anew into food-grade plastic. Ocean-recovered plastic is, however, able to be recycled into a variety of useful reborn materials like fibers for clothing, shoes & accessories, various home goods and furnishings and even skateboards among other things. Check out some of the amazing brands we love here! 

We work with OceanCycle, an independent third-party organization, to certify the source of our plastic and the conditions under which it is collected.

Source: OceanCycle provides end-to-end traceability of the entire collection and recycling process for our Ocean-Bound Plastic supply, from origin beaches to the final production-ready materials. As of our launch, we are sourcing plastic from at-risk regions of Asia.

Collection Conditions: Our Ocean-Bound Plastic is collected and processed under strict labor standards. Every factory, aggregation site and collection center subscribe to a zero-tolerance policy regarding child labor with penalty of immediate exclusion from the program for any breach.

OceanCycle audits the chain of custody of our materials and works with suppliers who also hold the following certifications:

• ISO 9001: Ensuring the use of a quality management system.
• GRS: Global Recycling Standard; defining requirements to ensure accurate content claims and good working conditions, and that harmful environmental and chemical impacts are minimized.
• REACH: Adherence to European material standards.

Additionally, working with our suppliers helps to support the establishment, growth and support of the recycling communities where our plastic is sourced, having developed an income funding program to promote and increase grassroots bottle collection efforts across the globe.

• They provide funds to support bottle collection and recycling infrastructure in communities all over the developing world, micro-financing their recycling economies.
• For the bottle collectors, this means a consistent and reliable option to earn money.
• For the factory owners, this means avoiding predatory lending practices in developing countries where standard loans are accompanied by high interest rates.
• Our suppliers are sometimes the first buyer of recycled plastic from countries helping to launch bottle recycling efforts.
• They’ve developed a customized bottle deposit system for economies where no formal recycling exists.

We’re proud to be a part of a supply chain that provides consistent and reliable income and financing to tens of thousands of people in our recycling community, from the individual bottle collectors to the processing factory owners.