It’s estimated a full garbage truck worth of plastic enters the ocean every minute of every day. If nothing changes, we’re projected to see that jump to two garbage trucks per minute by 2030 and four per minute by 2050. While fishing gear and nets are a large contributor, 80% of this pollution flows in from land-based sources and by way of smaller waterways, such as rivers.   In a world where recycling and waste collection is on the decline even for “highly recyclable” materials, this trend is highly especially prevalent in regions where a lack of economic and structural resources make it difficult for local systems to keep up with waste collection. Not only does this degrade the area for surrounding communities, but contributes to a global problem.

According to the Ocean Conservancy, over half of the plastic that ends up in our oceans come from five countries:  China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, a result of rapidly growing economies and consumer demand that have not yet been met with sustainable waste-management systems. In recognition of this growing epidemic, international recycling leader TerraCycle created The TerraCycle Global Foundation. With financial support from The PepsiCo Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, the TerraCycle Global Foundation is a dedicated public charity on a mission to dramatically reduce the volume of marine debris and plastic waste found in the world’s waterways. “Tackling plastic waste is vital for both environmental protection and economic development in communities across the world,” said Jon Banner, EVP Global Communications and president, The PepsiCo Foundation. “At PepsiCo, we take very seriously our commitment to building a world where plastic need never become waste. We are proud to be the angel investor to create the TerraCycle Global Foundation, helping to catalyze funding others and enable the recovery of tons of plastic waste from our waters.” The TerraCycle Global Foundation’s work is actively underway in Thailand, where the TerraCycle Thai Foundation, a locally registered independent non-profit, is collaborating with the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR). The Foundation has installed river plastic capture traps which are designed to increase the amount of debris and marine plastics that are collected from Thai waterways, thereby intercepting it before it reaches and pollutes the ocean. The devices are part of the DMCR’s project to integrate action and participation into marine debris management. Through its relationships with regional waste management companies, as well as TerraCycle Inc.’s larger network of research and development, and logistical and processing partners, the Foundation will sustainably recycle not only the waste collected through its own collection devices and efforts, but also the waste collected by all the other organizations participating in the Thai government’s marine debris management program. The end goal is to use recycled waste to create materials that can be incorporated in various applications — from primary packaging for major global brands to applications such as road or construction materials.

Two new river plastic capture devices have been installed in Thailand by the TerraCycle Thai Foundation in a bid to clean up Thailand’s waterways.