REMOVE. RECOVER. REPEAT

While we agree that efforts to prevent pollution at the source, we also know that we cannot wait to undo the damage that has already occurred.

A Natural Disaster in Slow Motion

Even the strongest plastics are no match for the sea, shore and sun. The harsh marine environment causes a problem in two ways:

1: As it breaks down it becomes harder to pick up. A single piece of styrofoam could be picked up in a second off the shore. but after a few years it could be in 100,000 pieces and would take weeks to track down.

2: The smaller the pieces get the faster they work their way into the environment. A bird or a fish wont take a bite out of a bucket, but they could easily mistake a part of one for a bit of food. Removing a single bit of marine debris now could prevent thousands of accidental ingestions.

TAKE ACTION

Collection Stories

 
Featured
Student Interns Open OPR’s Innovation Center
Student Interns Open OPR’s Innovation Center

This summer, OPR hosted its second cohort of interns, this time to open our Innovation Center in Kodiak.

Our Most Ambitious Project Yet
Our Most Ambitious Project Yet
Guest Blog: Expedition Two, Southeast Alaska
Guest Blog: Expedition Two, Southeast Alaska

A student’s account of the July 2023 marine debris expedition hosted by Ocean Plastics Recovery Project.

Expedition One, Southeast AK
Expedition One, Southeast AK
Katmai Wrap-up
Katmai Wrap-up
The Role of +Nature in the Emerging Nature Market
The Role of +Nature in the Emerging Nature Market

OPR Co-Founder speaks before the UN World Tourism Organization on April 9, 2022 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Introduction to +Nature
Introduction to +Nature
Field Update: Katmai Coast
Field Update: Katmai Coast
OPR Announces Clean-up of Katmai Coast
OPR Announces Clean-up of Katmai Coast
2020 Annual Report
2020 Annual Report

OPR Co-Founder Andy Schroeder on approach to Afognak Island, September 17, 2020.

Follow our journey.

 
From Kodiak to Mallorca, we are shifting gears to present along side @stina_inc at the #sustainabledestinationssummit This island in the middle of the Mediterranean is a world apart, but experiences a lot of the same challenges we see in Alaska. Ve
Sometimes life needs a little reframing. This giant Goodyear tire was found on a remote beach in Alaska. Although it weighed close to 300lb it must have floated all the way here from when it fell off a ship, or dock or into a River. It took our whole
Still filling in the picture 🖌 One of the hardest parts of helping our distressed ocean ecosystems is just understanding what is out there. How much marine debris ends up on Alaskan shores each year? For every pound of plastics we pick up on the
Working together to unwrap a net tangled log on the shore of Afognak. It’s hard to account for all of our trash, but it’s far harder to remove marine debris at this stage. But what other choice do we have? If we wait too long, the harsh A
Finding our way. For the last few weeks the Ocean Plastics Recovery Project has been connecting and collaborating with our partners from across the US as we recommit to our heading. Like a ship on the sea we are affected by the ebb and flow of the c
It takes a team! Excited to hear Nina Butler, co-founder and CEO of @stina_inc share her perspective on transitioning "from business as usual to a new paradigm", one in which we value nature as we shift from a linear to a circular economy.
On America Recycles Day, the U.S. based Ocean Plastics Recovery Project would like to thank the 26 volunteers who joined us in Alaska this summer for our largest collection effort to date, removing 7 tonnes of ocean plastic from the coast of Katmai N
Honored to receive the Tales from the Heart award from the @fridayharborfilm festival for If You Give a Beach a Bottle. Marine debris is still a largely invisible problem for most people and a short film is just one small way to bring awareness to th
Bear saftey is a key part of Alaskan Marine Debris cleanups. Bear tracks are everywhere on these beaches and much of the marine debris has toothmarks in it from curious bears. Fortunately Andy and the crew have a ton of experience about how to safely
Breakdown of a bucket 🪣 One big challenge in the recovery and recycling of marine debris is understanding the way the elements break down ocean plastics. These common white buckets can be found all over the remote beaches of Alaska in all stages o
Capt. Andy Schroeder is a co-founder of the Ocean Plastics Recovery Project, and has dedicated his career to restoring pristine habitat to Alaska’s coastline and raising awareness about the sources, impacts, and scale of the ocean plastics prob