Kia to use recycled plastic from record ocean haul

Kia intends using recycled plastic in its new EV models from a nearly 50-tonne (55-ton) haul recently reclaimed from the Pacific Ocean.

The record amount of plastic reclaimed by Kia’s global partner The Ocean Cleanup marks the next phase in a seven-year global partnership agreed in April 2022 as part of Kia’s transformation into a leading sustainable mobility solutions provider.

The Ocean Cleanup – an international non-profit project with the mission of ridding the oceans of plastic – landed its plastic catch at Victoria, Vancouver Island, Canada.

The record catch was removed from the Pacific Ocean using The Ocean Cleanup’s System 002 extraction technology following a lengthy voyage through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) – the world’s largest accumulation of floating waste with a surface area estimated at 1.6 million square kilometres, about three times the size of France.

The Ocean Cleanup has announced a scale-up to the larger System 03 which can capture larger amounts of plastic at lower cost in an ongoing mission to remove 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040.

System 03 also has more sophisticated environmental monitoring and safety technology, such as a new marine animal safety hatch designed to protect marine life.

Kia says it remains committed to a more than 20% increase in plastic reuse by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2045.

Recycling of the captured plastic will begin shortly, and Kia will use a proportion of the material in future models.

Already, Kia has successfully implemented more than 30 sustainable solutions in various product areas, including fabrics and carpets using recycled PET, bio-based alternative leather, and BTX (benzene, toluene, xylene)-free paint.

In the case of the EV9, the brand’s seven-seat all-electric SUV flagship model, upcycled waste (including fishing nets retrieved from the ocean) is used to create the vehicle’s floor carpets. The components used in the construction of the EV9 made from recycled plastic and bio-based, eco-friendly materials weigh about 34kg.

The Kia logo and colours are on every set of overalls worn by the crew of System 03.

“The record catch of plastics brought to shore by The Ocean Cleanup for recycling is tangible proof of how technology can deliver sustainable solutions at scale,” says Kia senior vice president and global brand and CX division head Charles Ryu.

The Ocean Cleanup partnerships director Nisha Bakker says the record plastic capture marks the end of the System 002 era for The Ocean Cleanup.

“We believe that System 03 represents the size of system required to scale up and expand our cleanup in the most economical way.

“Beyond System 03, we plan to deploy a fleet of systems that together will be capable of removing 50% of the GPGP every five years,” Bakker adds.

“However, we cannot do this alone. Committed and valued partners, and particularly our global partner Kia, remain essential for The Ocean Cleanup to bring our shared ambitions of plastic-free oceans to reality.”