The Ocean Cleanup delivers record 55-ton ocean plastic haul

Kia's global partner The Ocean Cleanup, has announced that it has retrieved a record 55-tons of plastic from the ocean.

The non-profit environmental engineering organisation landed its catch at Vancouver Island, Canada. The plastic was collected using its 002 extraction technology following a lengthy voyage through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Kia states that a portion of the plastic collected from this record haul will be utilised in its future models after recycling

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch now covers an estimated area of 1.6 million square kilometres - equivalent to three times the size of France.

Kia states that recycling of the captured plastic will begin shortly, with a proportion of the material set to be used in its future models. The firm already utilises sustainable materials in its vehicles including producing carpets out of recycled plastic and utilising bio-based alternative leather. The firm also utilises recycled fishing nets retrieved from the ocean to produce the carpets in its all-electric EV9 SUV.

The Ocean Cleanup also announced that it will be introducing a new system to capture larger quantities of plastic at a lower per kilogram cost. The organisation aims to remove 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040.