Ocean Integrity: Turning the Tide on Plastic Pollution
By Frederick Christopher – Development Advisor, Ocean Integrity
The plastic problem we all created
Plastic is in everything. From the bottle of water we drink to the packaging that wraps our food, it has become part of daily life. But the convenience comes at a cost. Millions of tons of plastic enter our rivers and oceans every year, suffocating coral reefs, poisoning fish, and threatening the very ecosystems we rely on.
In places like Indonesia, the problem is magnified. Many coastal and riverside communities have no waste collection, no bins, and no proper management systems. For generations, families have had no choice but to throw their rubbish into rivers, where it eventually flows out to sea. What begins as a local survival practice becomes a global environmental disaster.
Where Ocean Integrity began
Ocean Integrity was founded with a simple but powerful mission: to stop plastic from destroying our oceans and to restore marine life. But from the very beginning, our approach was different. We didn’t just want to collect plastic, we wanted to create a system that combined cleanup, community empowerment, recycling, and transparency.
Over the years, we’ve grown into one of the largest ocean and river plastic collectors in the world. Much of our work happens quietly, away from headlines, but always with impact.
Collectors: the heart of the movement
At the center of our mission are the people. Ocean Integrity works directly with indigenous fishermen and local collectors. Instead of struggling to earn a living from dwindling fish stocks, these men and women can earn a fair wage by retrieving plastic waste.
Every piece of plastic they collect is bagged, labeled, weighed, and recorded. Our systems ensure they are paid properly and on time. For many, this income has meant repairing homes, sending children to school, or simply putting food on the table.
This is not just about saving oceans, it’s about lifting communities out of poverty.
Recycling: giving plastic a second life
Once collected, plastic waste is taken to our warehouses. The material is sorted, cleaned, and recycled. Higher-quality plastics are turned into virgin pellets that can be sold to manufacturers for reuse. Lower-grade plastics are repurposed into building materials such as bricks, road surfacing, or even converted into oil.
Importantly, none of the waste ends up back in landfills, and none of it is burned. Once plastic enters our system, it is removed from the environment forever.
Transparency through blockchain
From the start, we knew that fighting plastic pollution required trust. Too many organizations have exaggerated or fabricated their impact, a practice known as greenwashing.
That is why Ocean Integrity uses blockchain technology. Every kilogram of plastic collected is geo-tagged, photographed, verified, and logged on the blockchain, making the data tamper-proof and transparent. Supporters, donors, and companies can scan a QR code and see exactly how much plastic their contributions helped remove.
Transparency isn’t just a value, it’s our name. It’s our integrity.
Innovation for the future
Beyond collection and recycling, Ocean Integrity has invested in innovations that will change the way the world tackles plastic pollution and marine restoration.
• The MPED (Micro-plastics Elimination Device) captures microplastics as small as 65 microns, preventing invisible threats from entering the oceans.
• The Aquatherm Disruptor will be deployed in 2026, designed to cool warming ocean waters, restore coral reefs, and disrupt deadly storms.
• Our movement, Clean the Ocean With Every Transaction, makes it possible for coffee shops, airlines, sports venues, and shipping companies to add just a few cents or dollars to a purchase—funding plastic recovery with every sale.
The road ahead
Ocean Integrity has already recovered more than 1.9 billion kilograms of plastic over the years, but the fight is far from over. With an estimated 12 million tons of plastic entering the ocean each year, this is not a battle we can win alone.
We need individuals, businesses, and governments to join us. By working together, we can clean oceans, restore biodiversity, and create fair opportunities for communities on the front lines of plastic pollution.
Join the movement
Ocean Integrity is more than a company. We are a movement built on action, innovation, and integrity.
Every bottle collected, every kilo recycled, and every transaction that supports our mission brings us closer to oceans full of life, not plastic.
The plastic crisis is vast, but so is human potential when we work together. Join us. Be part of the solution. Help us turn the tide on plastic pollution.
