MIAMI – The marine conservation group 4ocean observed an impressive yet grim record-setting haul after seven years of cleaning up waterways and coastlines around the world.
The impressive number underscores just how dire the global plastic crisis has become and how coastlines all over the planet are feeling the impact, including here in South Florida.
Local 10 News’ Louis Aguirre joined 4ocean CEO and co-founder Alex Schulze on the waters of Biscayne Bay trying to tackle the enormous amount of plastic pollution that increasingly washes up along our shorelines.
“We’re gonna go try and look at these pair of different islands,” said Schulze. “We’re trying to find plastic debris, ghost nets, anything that’s in the area.”
It is this urgent mission that has driven Schulze for the past seven years. It was the summer of 2017 when he and fellow surfer Andrew Cooper first arrived to the beaches of Bali, Indonesia expecting to find paradise and instead found an ocean full of plastic.
“Waves were washing up, and the plastic was as thick as you could see,” said Schulze. “You couldn’t even see sand.”
And so for miles, it was millions of pounds of just single-use plastic.
“That’s when we realized that that the amount of plastic that’s being produced, consumed around the world is happening at an alarming rate, and that was the first time we had seen it first hand to that level,” he said.
So Schulze and Cooper decided to do something about it, creating 4ocean, a company that hires local captains and anglers from plastic-infested coastal communities around the world to clean up the enormous amount of trash clogging rivers, waterways and coastlines and stop it from further polluting the sea.
“We operate out of Florida, Guatemala and Bali, Indonesia, and so we employ over 200 full time captains and crews,” said Schulze. “We pay fair living wages and cover 100% of health insurance and benefits, and we’ve been able to remove millions and millions of pounds of plastic.”
By the end of 2024, 4ocean had reached an epic milestone, having removed over 40 million pounds of trash from the global marine environment since its launch.
“It’s a pretty surreal moment,” said Schulze. “When we first started, it took us about 18 months to pull our first million pounds, and now we’re pulling about seven, eight million pounds a year.”
All trash collected is then sorted by type, size and color. The plastic that can be recycled is transformed into tiny plastic pellets, repurposed to make the iconic 4ocean bracelets sold to help fund the entire operation, bracelets that are handcrafted by local artisans from these seaside communities.
“We’re not only being able to clean up these local environments, but we’re actually stimulating local economies and creating jobs for these fishermen that are impacted by the plastic,” said Schulze.
Still, the global plastic pollution crisis is only growing more alarming with over 440 million pounds of trash entering world waterways every year, making it next to impossible to clean our way out this mess.
“Plastic production is increasing at an exponential rate,” said Schulze. “If we do not do anything now, in the next few years, it’s going to get worse and worse and worse.”
The toxic footprint of our addiction to plastic can be found everywhere, even in the most pristine environments.
In less than two hours’ time, Aguirre and the team hit up two Biscayne Bay coastlines, easily filling a 55-gallon drum with trash, most of it plastic.
It’s just a slice of what we can expect to see moving forward if we do nothing and continue down this current path.
According to recent studies, plastic waste is expected to quadruple in the next 25 years. That means by 2050 we will have produced 26 billion tons of plastic waste.
“Ultimately, what we need to do is cut down the amount of plastics that are being plastics that being produced and consumed,” said Schulze.
Schulze believes by widely amplifying the jaw-dropping images of what the plastics are doing to our planet, we can begin to move the needle on this.
Though the pushback is strong, from the plastic industry, it is we the consumers who can and must make better choices.
“Collectively, we have the power to really start a movement and create change,” said Schulze. “What you do with your dollar and where you put your purchasing power is your vote. Look at this. This is a beautiful ocean that we need to protect. This is our life.”