Oceanworks' Proactive Approach in Preventing Plastic Pollution with Vanessa Coleman

Vanessa is co-founder and CEO of Oceanworks, the largest global marketplace for recycled plastic materials and products. Oceanworks platform provides brands with easy access to trusted regional recyclers to accelerate recycled plastic offtake, keep plastic out of the ocean, and reduce demand for new virgin materials. Oceanworks serves 100s of brands and offers 100s of thousands of tons of supply annually. 

OceanWorks specializes in PCR plastic resins that have been either taken from the ocean or grabbed before they get to the ocean. They have created a streamlined and functional website where companies that want to use the PCR plastic, Ocean bound certified material can easily get samples tested at the manufacturing facilities and brought to the market.

On this episode, we talked about:

·    OceanWorks beginning

·    The growing demand for recycled materials, and even within that, there are sub-sectors of opportunity, such as ocean-bound plastic, that are actually meeting a need.

·    How OceanWorks takes ocean-bound or ocean waste recycled plastics either before it enters the ocean or, in some situations, after it has entered the ocean.

·    The big difference between ocean-bound PCR and ocean waste plastic from a quality standpoint and the difficulty of gathering and recycling the material, where it is reused.

·    The misunderstanding about the difference between ocean waste and ocean-bound PCR.

·    The impact on local coastal communities as they gather up different materials.

·    How materials are collected from local areas, etc.

·    The continuing demand for PCR and especially ocean-bound PCR as more brands become interested.

·    The major roadblocks or challenges for brands and packaging manufacturers include transitioning away from land-based packaging and toward ocean-based packaging.

·    Success story of a brand being able to switch over to ocean-bound plastics and how that change went

·    What the future looks like for Oceanworks

·    Thoughts on blockchain, tokenization, and the impact that going to have on potentially the circularity of plastic materials, especially plastic.

·    How people assume putting into the recycled bin, only to discover that it is nearly never recycled

·    Thoughts on how people can help out, whether it's keeping plastic out of the ocean or using the content or just thinking about the whole kind of issue, and advice for brands manufacturers.

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Find out more about Vanessa on her website and connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Website: https://oceanworks.co/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vgreencoleman

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-green-coleman/

The views and opinions expressed on the "Packaging Brothers" podcast are solely those of the author and guests and should not be attributed to any other individual or entity. This podcast is an independent production of Packaging Brothers, and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2022.