Dell in collaborative initiative to combat ocean plastics

The computer technology company, Dell, has partnered with Lonely Whale, the positive impact company, on a collaborative initiative that will see less waste enter the ocean.

Dell announced the collaboration on 12 December, and by doing so has pledged to decrease the volume of plastic and nylon litter and waste it generates before it can enter the ocean.

“Collaboration is critical to addressing the issue of ocean plastic at scale,” stated Kevin Brown, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Dell.

“I’m thrilled to partner closely with leaders across industries to advance our collective interest in creating solutions that create value from waste.”

95% of the value of plastic packaging is lost from the economy, says the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, totally an annual loss between $80bn-$120bn.

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The Foundation also argues that by 2050, the ocean will contain more plastic than fish, in regards to weight.

The NextWave initiative plans to develop a new supply chain model that can reduce the scale of ocean-bound plastic, with aims to divert 3mn pounds of plastic from the ocean.

The new supply chain model will also have social and economic benefits for companies that are involved.

The first set of companies involved in the initiative includes Trek Bicycle, Herman Miller, Bureo, Humanscale, General Motors, and Interface.

“The oceans are facing a plastic pandemic and it is critical for companies to take ownership of their supply chains and for consumers be aware of how their everyday choices can have a lasting legacy,” reported the UN’s Environment Executive Director, Erik Solheim.

“We welcome Dell and Lonely Whale for organizing this working group and spearheading what we hope will be a catalyst to innovation that can only be achieved by working together.”