Kia incorporates recycled plastic from ocean cleanup in electric vehicles

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【Summary】Kia will incorporate recycled plastic from a 55-ton haul collected from the Pacific Ocean into its new electric vehicle models. The plastic was recovered by The Ocean Cleanup, an organization dedicated to removing plastic from the oceans. This marks the next step in Kia's sustainability efforts, as they have already implemented over 30 sustainable solutions in their products.

FutureCar Staff Sep 14, 2023 9:29 AM PT

Kia incorporates recycled plastic from ocean cleanup in electric vehicles

Kia has announced its plans to incorporate recycled plastic from a 55-ton haul that was recently reclaimed from the Pacific Ocean into its new electric vehicle models. This initiative is part of Kia's ongoing sustainability efforts and is made possible through its global partnership with The Ocean Cleanup.

The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit project that aims to rid the oceans of plastic pollution. The organization successfully landed its plastic catch at Victoria, Vancouver Island, Canada, setting a new record for the amount of plastic reclaimed from the world's oceans.

The plastic catch was extracted from the Pacific Ocean using The Ocean Cleanup's System 002 extraction technology after a lengthy voyage through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). The GPGP is the largest accumulation of floating waste in the world, with an estimated surface area equivalent to three times the size of France.

Kia plans to begin recycling the captured plastic shortly and intends to incorporate a portion of the material into its future vehicle models. This is not the first time that Kia has implemented sustainable solutions in its products. The company has already introduced over 30 sustainable solutions, such as using recycled PET for fabrics and carpets, bio-based alternative leather, and BTX-free paint.

For example, in the case of the EV9, Kia uses up-cycled waste, including fishing nets retrieved from the ocean, to create the vehicle's floor carpets. The components used in the construction of the EV9, such as recycled plastic and bio-based eco-friendly materials, weigh approximately 34kg.