The TerraCycle Global Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by TerraCycle, an international leader in innovative sustainability solutions, has reached an impressive milestone. The foundation has removed over 2 million pounds of waste – roughly equivalent to the weight of more than eight blue whales – from rivers, canals and waterways.
Since its founding, the TerraCycle Global Foundation has targeted ocean cleanup right at the source. 80% of marine pollution starts in rivers and canals. When polluted, these waterways send waste to oceans, harming sea life, human health, and the environment. The TerraCycle Global Foundation’s world-class river waste prevention systems ensure none of the waste collected ever reaches the ocean.
Operating in canals throughout Bangkok, Thailand, the TerraCycle Global Foundation works with local community and government organizations to address the complex challenge of collecting waste before it enters and pollutes global aquatic systems. The Foundation currently operates wildlife-safe river traps in Thai canals to recover waste directly from the water. The waste is sorted, and plastics are separated and recycled.
“The TerraCycle Global Foundation takes a holistic approach to reducing plastic waste in waterways,” said James Scott, Executive Director of the TerraCycle Global Foundation. “Our operations provide safe, stable employment for members of the local Lat Phrao community in Bangkok while creating cleaner and healthier environments for communities along the canal.”
“Reaching this waste removal milestone is only the beginning of the Foundation’s work to clean our oceans and preserve the planet. It’s our mission to enact meaningful, long-lasting change that can be replicated worldwide.”
Last year, the TerraCycle Global Foundation made a Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) ‘Commitment to Action’ with a project to prevent ocean waste. The Foundation will replicate and scale its successful canal cleanup model in a new region in Thailand, Vietnam, or Cambodia and establish a material recovery center as a central hub for waste management activities and educational programs. The commitment was recognized by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting.
To learn more about The TerraCycle Global Foundation, please visit www.terracyclefoundation.org.
TerraCycle supports the Foundation by contributing time and a wide range of resources to support the Foundation’s important mission.