Plastic hauled from the ocean is heading into your next Kia

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Parts of your next Kia EV may have just been dragged from the ocean, thanks to Kia's plans to use recycled plastic from a recent record-breaking haul by its partner, The Ocean Cleanup.

The Ocean Cleanup, an international non-profit project with the mission of ridding the world's oceans of plastic, landed a staggering 55 tons of waste plastic at Victoria, Vancouver Island, Canada. The record catch was removed from the Pacific Ocean using The Ocean Cleanup’s System 002 extraction technology following a lengthy voyage through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the world’s largest accumulation of floating waste and has an estimated surface area of 1.6 million square kilometres – equivalent to three times the size of France.

Recycling of the captured plastic will begin shortly, and Kia says it will use a proportion of the material in future models. Kia currently uses more than 30 'sustainable solutions' in its various products, including fabrics and carpets using recycled PET, bio-based alternative leather, and BTX (Benzene, Toluene, Xylene) free paint.

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The EV9, the brand’s 7-seat all-electric SUV flagship model, uses upcycled waste, including fishing nets retrieved from the ocean, to create the vehicle's floor carpets. The company says the components used in the construction of the EV9 made from recycled plastic and bio-based, eco-friendly materials weigh approximately 34kg.

And that amount will only get bigger, with The Ocean Cleanup announcing the introduction of its new System 03 technology that is almost three times larger than System 002. System 03 can capture much larger quantities of plastic at a lower cost per kilogram removed on a continuous year-round basis.

It also features more sophisticated environmental monitoring and safety technology, such as a new Marine Animal Safety Hatch designed to protect marine life. This scale-up marks the next phase towards The Ocean Cleanup’s objective of removing 90 percent of floating ocean plastic by 2040.

“This record delivery marks the end of the System 002 era for The Ocean Cleanup, and the perfect platform as we launch System 03," said Nisha Bakker, Director Partnerships of The Ocean Cleanup.

"We are moving forward step-by-step, and we believe that System 03 represents the size of system required to scale up and expand our cleanup in the most economical way. Beyond System 03, we plan to deploy a fleet of systems that together will be capable of removing 50 per cent of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch every five years.

"However, we cannot do this alone. Committed and valued partners, and particularly our global partner Kia, remain essential for The Ocean Cleanup to bring our shared ambitions of plastic-free oceans to reality."

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