Sea sweepers to use blockchain to track recycled plastic

As climate change initiatives make headlines across the country, entrepreneurs and conservationists are combining blockchain technology with sustainability in Miami. The Sea Sweepers Foundation is an organization that wants to use the blockchain to create a sustainable supply chain and show customers the origin of their recycled plastic. It was founded a year ago and launched last quarter.

Simply put, a blockchain is a chain of information stored on a computer that cannot be edited. It is closely related to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency transactions, but other industries have adopted its use. Blockchain’s main feature is its ability to effectively show the start and end of a process, allowing companies like Walmart and IBM to use it for product tracking.

Sea Sweepers plans to use the blockchain to verify the authenticity of a recycled product. In other words: How do you know that this “recycled” bag is really recycled? That is precisely the information Sea Sweepers intends to provide with its products.

Sea Sweepers describes itself as a foundation that “hopes to create a sustainable supply chain that is collaborative and transparent to encourage a circular economy around ocean plastic recycling,” and sets itself apart from other environmental services with its focus on verification and tracking. According to its website, the foundation plans to document where the plastic was recycled, which non-profit organization recycled it and which manufacturer made the final product.

Sea Sweepers has a donation service where customers can donate products for credit towards recycled products. These transactions are also recorded in the blockchain. The foundation currently offers custom swimsuits that can only be purchased through Coinbase. The swimsuit comes with an NFT of the swimsuit.

Sea Sweepers has partnered with Sage Larock, an ethically sourced swimwear company by Taryn Sage Larock, a former model and co-founder of Sea Sweepers. The foundation’s other partner, HyperField, provides the blockchain needed for Sea Sweepers to function. Chief technology officer Naveen Sydney, described as one of blockchain’s “initial pioneers”, is also project manager for Sea Sweepers. With other partners such as environmental groups Sea Shepherd and the Ocean Voyages Institute, it’s easy to see why Sea Sweepers calls itself a “partnership between environmentally friendly businesses and passionate conservationists.”

Sydney narrates New times that although swimsuits are the only items available, there are plans to advertise other products that use plastic pellets.

“The pellets are also in demand from the automotive industry. All industries that use plastics will find pellets useful, as pellets, again, can be converted into almost any required product,” he explains. “Ghost Nets (nets left floating in the ocean), for example, can be retrieved and directly turned into substances as well. As we move into the next phase, multiplastic, regularly recycled plastic from the ocean will also be able to be turned into the same pellets , allowing greater efficiency from Sea Sweepers.”

Early this year, Sea Sweepers attended Blockchain 2022, a conference held in Miami focusing on crypto and blockchain technology. At the event, the foundation had a runway show showcasing some of the swimsuits it developed from recycled plastic.

Although Sea Sweepers hasn’t started blockchain tracking yet, Sydney is excited to see the impact.

“The aim is to ensure that every item can be tracked and put down on the blockchain so that consumers can see the genuine positive impact they have directly by recycling products with us,” he says. “It helps us build a circular economy while, more importantly, helping to save the oceans.”