Unique Upcycling Solution to Plastic Ocean Pollution

Nov. 30, 2012 - PRLog -- Vancouver, BC, November 25, 2012 – At long last there is a unique solution to the approximately 142 billion kilos of plastic pollution that is swirling in the world’s five gyres – transform it into revenue streams by “upcycling” it into fuel.

Upcycle the Gyres Society (UGS), a non-profit environmental organization registered and Incorporated in June 2012, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada is charting the path for converting all plastic found in the world’s oceans into crude oil through “Plastic-to-oil” technology.

UGS is in the process of raising funds to buy a Japanese designed desktop-size plastic to oil machine, and to showcase the technology to students, environmentalists and community activists across Canada.

Upcycle the Gyres is simultaneously working on a business model, which would allow for investor involvement. Preliminary calculations indicate total profits could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars during a yet undetermined number of years.

Upcycle the Gyres, in conjunction with investors and donors will launch a Floating Eco Research-Upcycling Facility (FERUF) capable of producing, storing, and offloading plastic fuel.

The purpose of this floating eco-facility will be to provide researchers with a 24-hour, 365-day food, energy and fresh water sufficient Gyre-Laboratory. This laboratory-base will enable them to determine the magnitude of the cleanup, find out exactly what equipment and methods for ocean plastic-reclamation are needed to be successful, and will help develop the right solutions sooner.

In alignment with the maritime sector’s vision of " Zero pollution of the environment," Upcycle the Gyres will operate zero waste, zero emission, marine plastic research-and-harvesting  vessels.

“This is an amazing idea from Co-Founder and Project Director José Luis Gutiérrez-García who is really gifted at bringing together the right team members to help the Society reach its goals," UGS Ethical Marketing Co-Director, Elke Porter says.

“Each team member has already demonstrated their knowledge and interest for improving the health of the oceans and has committed to use their particular area of strength and expertise to move this idea forward”.

See www.upgyres.org for more information!