Munich/Kiel, June 23, 2024 – Around 35 km of coastline along the Baltic Sea were cleaned as part of the 39th International Coastal Cleanup Day. Equipped with garbage bags, buckets, tongs and gloves, the volunteers and helpers collected more than 500 kilograms of garbage on Friday and Saturday; the final evaluations are currently underway. Not only thousands of cigarette butts, plastic packaging, plastic film and bags, bottles and corks were once again the shocking yield of the hard-working collectors, but also shoes, textiles, mats, a wide variety of other waste and even hazardous waste such as batteries and rechargeable batteries.

The Washington-based NGO Ocean Conservancy coordinates this International Coastal Cleanup, which always takes place on the 3rd weekend in September, and summarizes the results of the global waste collection in an overall report.

“We hope that participation will be as high again next year when we call for the 40th International Coastal Cleanup on 19/20 September 2024,” emphasizes Dr. Harald Frank, project manager at One Earth – One Ocean. He continues: “Nevertheless, we can only make a limited contribution with these important and effective actions. Reducing marine litter requires, in particular, decisive political action and continuous environmental education campaigns.”

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all participants and our sponsor Stadtwerke Kiel AG, who made the campaigns financially possible.

About one earth – one ocean e. V. (oeoo)

The non-profit environmental organization one earth – one ocean e.V.(oeoo), based in Munich and with offices in Kiel, Battambang/Cambodia, Manila/Philippines and Rio/Brazil, has been pursuing the goal of ridding the world’s waters of plastic waste since 2011. The multi-stage “Maritime Waste Disposal” concept for eliminating coastal marine pollution caused by plastic waste envisages – in addition to processing land-based plastic waste – collecting the plastic from waters around the world using a fleet of special waste collection ships and then recycling it on recycling ships such as the SeeElefant. Projects to remove plastic waste from bodies of water are currently underway in Cambodia, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, Uganda and Egypt. Specially designed waste collection ships called SeeHamster and SeeKuh are used for this purpose. From 2026, the first “SeeElefant”, a converted multi-purpose freighter that will have systems for sorting, shredding, processing and pressing marine waste on board, will be the first pilot system for a waste recycling ship. As soon as industrial-scale plastics-to-fuel plants are available, plastic will also be converted back into sulphur-free oil directly on board. The association is also involved nationally and internationally in research into microplastics as well as educational and awareness-raising work and documentation on the subject of marine litter. Back in 2013, oeoo won the prestigious GreenTec Award, Europe’s largest environmental and business prize, for its maritime waste collection concept. In 2019, the association received the Federal Ecodesign Award from the Federal Ministry for the Environment for its SeeElefant waste recycling ship concept. Further information about oeoo and its current projects can be found at www.oeoo.world.

Press contact
Dr. Harald Frank
Finance & Projects
Krausstr. 17, 24118 Kiel

+49 (0)176-30326723
harald.frank@drfrank-finance.com
www.drfrank-finance.com

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Topics and activities

Education and sustainability

This project is aimed at pupils in grades 5 to 13 and supports the geography curriculum at upper and lower secondary level. The proven ESD approach “Recognize, evaluate and act” teaches environmental education in a practical and sustainable way.

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Wingfoiling conquers the Kieler Woche

The young and talented wingfoilers stepped into the limelight for the first time during Kieler Woche. With breathtaking speeds of over 35 knots, the U19 athletes demonstrated their skills on their X-15 boards and thrilled the audience. A comprehensive demo and coaching event led by world champion Fiona Wylde also gave beginners the opportunity to try out and develop their skills in this up-and-coming discipline. The initiators hope that wingfoiling might even become an Olympic sport in the future.

With the “SeeKuh I” against seaweed

Another highlight was the participation of the association One Earth – One Ocean e. V., which took on an important task with its waste collection ship “SeeKuh I”: the collection of seaweed that landed in Strander Bucht due to storms and waves. This innovative campaign once again demonstrated the association’s commitment to clean and healthy oceans.

Microbiologist Rüdiger Stöhr, a key member of the OEOO team, reported enthusiastically on the successful seagrass collection campaign. “We collected over ten kilograms of seaweed in one day. The seaweed grows in a kind of road that is perfect for collecting,” says Stöhr. The collected seaweed is to be used as insulation or filling material, which enables sustainable use and at the same time keeps the regatta course clear for the athletes.

Commitment and education at the information stand

Our information stand at Kieler Woche was an impressive place to meet and obtain information. Visitors had the opportunity to meet key team members, including Lennart and Linus, who spent a year working for us in Cambodia, as well as Franziska and microbiologist Rüdiger Stöhr. During the discussion, interested parties learned more about OEOO’s important environmental projects and how they themselves can get involved in protecting our oceans.

Many thanks to all visitors

A big thank you goes to everyone who visited our stand and supported our commitment to clean oceans. Together we can make a significant contribution to protecting our oceans and continue to shape Kiel Week as an event of sustainability and innovation.

Let’s set sail together for a clean and sustainable future!

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Munich/Hamburg, June 19, 2024 – In the context of a The Körber Foundation honored Günther Bonin with the 2024 Encore Award for his life’s work at a festive gala in Hamburg-Bergedorf on 13 June. The prize is endowed with 60,000 euros and is awarded to personalities who have built up a company with added social value with 60plus. The award is justified by the foundation as follows: “Günther Bonin (68) from Munich founded the environmental organization One Earth – One Ocean e.V. (oeoo) in 2011 with the aim of ridding the world’s waters of plastic waste, oil and pollutants. Using special innovative waste collection ships, the association collects plastic waste from oceans, rivers and lakes at hotspots, which is then sorted and recycled. In addition, oeoo is involved nationally and internationally in the areas of research, environmental education and documentation and has been an official partner of the UN CleanSeas environmental campaign since 2018.”

Bonin comments: “I would like to thank the Körber Foundation very much for this honor and for the fact that it has been bestowed on me at an age when I will hopefully still have enough time left to continue the fight against plastic waste and microplastics in oceans and waters for as long as possible – because this fight is more necessary than ever.”

In addition to ongoing global waste collection and recycling campaigns, oeoo has been regularly examining water samples in the Atlantic and North Sea for their microplastic content for ten years as part of a microplastic monitoring program led by microbiologist Dr. Rüdiger Stöhr. Supported by the Oldenburg-Portugiesische Dampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft (OPDR), over 1,000 water samples of 20 liters each were taken from container ships on 134 trips between Hamburg and the Canary Islands and tested for microplastics in the association’s own laboratory in Kiel. In the first few years, 73% of the samples contained microplastics; the proportion is now 94%. The largest proportion of plastic parts comes from the packaging and coating industry. An ever-increasing proportion is made up of fibers, from which modern clothing is made. The results of the measurements are shown in the Microplastic Pollution Map (MPPM) at https://oneearth-oneocean.com/unsere-projekte/microplastic-pollution-map/ in an interactive nautical chart. Günther Bonin summarizes the results: “Ten years of our research show beyond doubt that the situation has continued to deteriorate. There is no longer a body of water without plastic.”

About one earth – one ocean e. V. (oeoo)

The non-profit environmental organization one earth – one ocean e.V.(oeoo), based in Munich and with offices in Kiel, Battambang/Cambodia, Manila/Philippines and Rio/Brazil, has been pursuing the goal of ridding the world’s waters of plastic waste since 2011. The multi-stage “Maritime Waste Disposal” concept for eliminating coastal marine pollution caused by plastic waste envisages – in addition to processing land-based plastic waste – collecting the plastic from waters around the world using a fleet of special waste collection ships and then recycling it on recycling ships such as the SeeElefant. Projects to remove plastic waste from bodies of water are currently underway in Cambodia, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, Uganda and Egypt. Specially designed waste collection ships called SeeHamster and SeeKuh are used for this purpose. From 2026, the first “SeeElefant”, a converted multi-purpose freighter that will have systems for sorting, shredding, processing and pressing marine waste on board, will be the first pilot system for a waste recycling ship. As soon as industrial-scale plastics-to-fuel plants are available, plastic will also be converted back into sulphur-free oil directly on board. The association is also involved nationally and internationally in research into microplastics as well as educational and awareness-raising work and documentation on the subject of marine litter. Back in 2013, oeoo won the prestigious GreenTec Award, Europe’s largest environmental and business prize, for its maritime waste collection concept. In 2019, the association received the Federal Ecodesign Award from the Federal Ministry for the Environment for its SeeElefant waste recycling ship concept. Further information about oeoo and its current projects can be found at www.oeoo.world .

About the encore price

Improving the world is possible at any age. Every year, the Körber Foundation awards the Encore Prize to three personalities over 60 who have used entrepreneurial means to find solutions to the social challenges of our time and have built up a social enterprise. The encore prize is endowed with 60,000 euros each. The focus is on people whose initiatives show that experience and innovation, retirement and new beginnings, age and social impact complement each other productively. Further information on the prize and former award winners can be found at https://koerber-stiftung.de/projekte/zugabe-preis/

Press contact
CP Communication
Christian Prechtl
Alte Eppelheimer Straße 23
69115 Heidelberg

+49 (0)6221 65018 24
info@cpkomm.de
https://cpkomm.de

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Munich/Kiel, December 5, 2023 – The leading international classification society Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore (BV), headquartered in Paris, has awarded the planned waste recycling vessel “SeeElefant” from one earth-one ocean (oeoo) the “Approval in Principle” certificate following a thorough inspection on November 8, 2023. This confirms that the inspected documents comply with the rules of the classification society and that the conditions for intactness and leak stability of the 180m bulker in transit mode, i.e. in ship operation, are fully met.

Rolf Stiefel, Head of Central Europe at BV, explains: “The SeeElefant has the potential to make a substantial contribution to the elimination of plastic waste on coasts and beaches. As a classification society, we are delighted to be involved in this pioneering project from the very beginning.

“NSB Niederelbe Schiffahrtsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG from Buxtehude is also literally on board with this globally unique sustainability project as a shipping company,” assures its CCO Markus Thewes.

The development team led by oeoo CEO Günther Bonin presented the initial design of the bulk carrier, automatic plastic sorting system and waste-to-energy system back in spring. With a daily processing capacity of 200 tons of plastic waste from waterways and households, the SeeElefant is a pilot system that can work perfectly in the coastal waters off metropolitan regions due to its easy scalability and mobility in order to effectively counteract the global flood of plastic on a regional level.

Now that the basic solutions for the ship and plant technology are in place, the next step is to establish the overall financing of EUR 50 million for the first recycling ship. Together with an experienced consulting firm, financing is being sought from subsidies from the “Green Deal”/European Innovation Fund and customized loans from European development banks. Further funds from the German shipyard subsidy program “Innovative shipbuilding secures jobs” can be integrated.

“We have already received very positive signals from potential financiers and are optimistic that we will reach the next milestone in April 2024 with the submission of the EU funding applications,” says project manager Dr. Harald Frank. “If the schedule is implemented as planned, the SeeElefant will be ready for its first trials in 2026.”

“We are already thinking about scaling up the SeeElefant systems in order to make an effective contribution to reducing plastic waste and boosting recycling,” says oeoo founder Günther Bonin. And he adds: “This requires further technical and financial partners, particularly from industry, who want to drive this project forward together with us.”

About one earth – one ocean e. V. (oeoo)

The non-profit environmental organization one earth – one ocean e.V.(oeoo), based in Munich and with offices in Kiel, Battambang/Cambodia, Manila/Philippines and Rio/Brazil, has been pursuing the goal of ridding the world’s waters of plastic waste since 2011. The multi-stage “Maritime Waste Disposal” concept for eliminating coastal marine pollution caused by plastic waste envisages – in addition to processing land-based plastic waste – collecting the plastic from waters around the world using a fleet of special waste collection ships and then recycling it on recycling ships such as the SeeElefant. Projects to remove plastic waste from bodies of water are currently underway in Cambodia, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, Uganda and Egypt. Specially designed waste collection ships called SeeHamster and SeeKuh are used for this purpose. From 2026, the first “SeeElefant”, a converted multi-purpose freighter that will have systems for sorting, shredding, processing and pressing marine waste on board, will be the first pilot system for a waste recycling ship. As soon as industrial-scale plastics-to-fuel plants are available, plastic will also be converted back into sulphur-free oil directly on board. The association is also involved nationally and internationally in research into microplastics as well as educational and awareness-raising work and documentation on the subject of marine litter. Back in 2013, oeoo won the prestigious GreenTec Award, Europe’s largest environmental and business prize, for its maritime waste collection concept. In 2019, the association received the Federal Ecodesign Award from the Federal Ministry for the Environment for its SeeElefant waste recycling ship concept. Further information about oeoo and its current projects can be found at www.oeoo.world .

Press contact
CP Communication
Christian Prechtl
Alte Eppelheimer Straße 23
69115 Heidelberg

+49 (0)6221 65018 24
info@cpkomm.de
https://cpkomm.de

The post Setting the course for maritime plastic waste recycling appeared first on One Earth - One Ocean e. V..

Because of its old French colonial architecture and its pretty location on the river, tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world visit the city every year.

To ensure that Battambang remains attractive and appealing to tourists and its residents, cleanliness in all areas of the city is a priority. In this regard, the Battambang city administration has been relying on a fruitful cooperation with One Earth – One Ocean e.V. (oeoo) for the past 5 years. In recent years, Battambang has been awarded the title of “cleanest municipality” in Cambodia several times.

The oeoo team in Battambang currently consists of 8 people and not only cleans the Sangke River, but also its numerous small tributaries. Several times a month, oeoo and volunteers carry out targeted collection campaigns with schoolchildren, monks and public service employees at certain sections of the river. Collection bins for plastics have been set up in schools and oeoo staff also conduct training sessions for citizens on environmental protection in everyday life.

The team members receive a monthly salary that is always adjusted to the cost of living in Cambodia. According to their hard work, they are covered by health insurance in addition to the state health insurance, and their children are cared for in facilities run by the NGO COMPED, oeoo’s partner in Cambodia.

In 2021, the team of oeoo environmentalists, together with volunteers, was able to remove about 70 tonnes of waste from the water bodies, process it and send it for material recycling, thermal recycling or other sensible disposal. In 2022, 104 tonnes of waste have already been collected. Of this, 48 tonnes ended up in a cement factory for thermal recycling (incineration), where they replace oil and gas. This is because the heavy pollution of the waste and the long storage time in the water mean that the plastic waste can hardly be recycled.

Several clean-up events were organised this year by the oeoo team in Battambang, including with young people, monks, school children and even tourists.

The collected waste is sorted. Around 50 per cent is used as high calorific value material for energy recovery. The other 50 percent can be recycled: on the one hand by composting, on the other hand by making the plastic waste available as a secondary raw material for the plastics industry or it is landfilled in an environmentally friendly way.

For their unrelenting work, the oeoo team Battambang received the award as “environmental activists of the city” from the provincial administration.

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With 4 traditional fishing boats, a service boat from oeoo and many helping hands, the river arms in the districts of La Huerta and Don Galo as well as the mouth of the Parañaque River will be cleaned this week.

The amount of rubbish is overwhelming. On the first day alone, about 2 tons of rubbish were pulled out of the black, stinking water.

Even though this work can only be a drop in the ocean, our presence on the ground is extremely important in order to achieve a rethinking among the local residents so that they no longer use the river as a rubbish dump. The locals reacted very differently. In addition to rejection and displeasure, shame was more in the foreground for many.

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For example, in October, oeoo Rio presented its work at the II Urban Environmental Conference for Children and Youth in Public Schools and held an environmental action where children and youth could learn more about recyclable materials and the duration of their degradation phases. In addition, oeoo Rio organised a cleanup action in honour of Children’s Day, where children and young people also received a healthy breakfast.

In November, in addition to the monthly cleaning campaigns, further children’s and youth education projects on the topic of the environment will take place in two municipal schools in Rio de Janeiro.

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The ongoing operation of the project is now being handed over to the local city government of Bekasi. The city is also one of the partners of the project and provides the staff for the daily cleanups with the “Frog Troops”. For the next five years, they will be responsible for the Bekasi River Cleanup Project “BRIC” under the supervision of oeoo from the beginning of 2023. Of course, oeoo will remain on board as technical partner, consultant and for a possible further expansion of the activities.

About 60% of the river waste is returned to the local recycling system via local recyclers. Most of this is organic waste, various plastic fractions and paper and cardboard. The Frog Troops also regularly clean the polluted banks of the Bekasi River. During the current campaign, Harald Frank (oeoo) and Hannah Nicklas (Schwarz Group) were able to support the Frog-Troops at a particularly polluted spot. The collection result at this approximately 70 m long bank area was after 1.5 hours an oppressive 858 kg!

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