Since 1950, close to half of all plastic has ended up in landfill or dumped in the wild, and only 9% of all plastic ever made has likely been recycled.
Discarded fishing gear comprises an estimate of 20% of the plastic pollution in the ocean.
Annually, more than 80% of the plastics polluting the oceans come from land-based sources.
The ocean-bound plastics are collected on islands, beaches, along coastlines and uncontrolled landfills. Exposed to sun, sea, sand and rain, the plastic waste is dirty, brittle – but also threatening the environment. #tide pay fair wages to fishermen and local communities who are picking up the plastics.
The material is sorted in Social Enterprises: A plastic bottle for instance often consists of three different kind of plastics: PET (bottle), PP (screw cap) and PET-G resins (label). The local teams make sure that these plastics are separated, cleansed and pressed to bales for further processing. #tide collect different kinds of plastics: PET, PP, HDPE or LDPE.
The processing and recycling of plastic waste is overseen and monitored by #tide's Research and Development department and #tide’s partners at the Institute for Materials Technology and Plastics Processing (IWK), a specialized branch of Switzerland's University.
#tide scientists ensure the material meets our quality standards and is upcycled according to a mechanical method developed in close partnership with the Swiss University of Applied Sciences. The brittle plastic waste is transformed into a premium second life raw material with an astounding level of purity – and without adding any virgin plastics.
#tide’s raw material consists of 100% recycled ocean-bound plastics. #tide recycle and upcycle the plastic waste, perfecting their know-how to align the properties of the plastic waste. Depending on the final product, #tide’s experts know how to align the properties of the collected and upcycled plastic waste with the manufacturing process. Every product has its own specifications; they have the knowledge and the network to make the impossible possible. #tide refer to this as target oriented compounding.
There's way too much single-use plastic ending up on landfills, in rivers and finally in the ocean: It's #tide’s big goal to change this by applying their upcycled material to all kinds of industries and products. #tide ocean material is a raw component ready for all possible plastic and textile applications. It can be processed to filaments, yarns and fabrics (canvas). #tide’s scientists and partners continue to research new applications and processing possibilities, from foil extrusion to blow molding.
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