Waste Free Oceans (WFO) continuously engages in marine litter clean-ups worldwide and, through “Closing the loop” projects, works with companies to transform the collected waste into innovative and sustainable products. WFO aims to find a balance between providing concrete solutions at source and acting on remediation actions involving a large range of local and regional stakeholders.

WFO is currently expanding into a new area. The organization is collecting plastic from the ocean and rivers, which will be mixed with plastic collected from land through waste pickers, then processed in a plant, and afterwards converted into panels. These panels will be used to build affordable houses/shelters for the local communities who have lost their homes in natural disasters, therefore contributing to the welfare of the population in the less fortunate areas.

The first and unique shelter model will be ready in October and will be exhibited as a “world first prototype” at the Ecomondo fair, which takes place between 6 – 9 November, in Rimini, Italy. The fair brings together all sectors of the circular economy, from material and energy recovery to sustainable development and is a reference point in the international panorama.

Corepla - the Italian non-profit-making consortium for the collection, recycling and recovery of the waste from plastic packaging materials - supports the activities of WFO and collaborates on this project in Italy by providing the material which will be used for the first shelter. The organizations cooperate in finding a practical answer to the issue of marine litter and in helping to educate society on the recycling solutions available.

Overall, WFO hopes to be actively involved in local prevention, by educating people, involving them in home rebuilding and raising awareness on waste collection and sorting, therefore helping some regions in the world with the humanitarian shelter project.