Photo: Forto press materials

Forto launches Ocean Plastic Prevention product with Plastic Fischer

Forto has launched what it is calling the first commercially available product to help shippers reduce the amount of plastic landing in the ocean.

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Created in partnership with Plastic Fischer, an organisation specializing in plastic waste recovery and recycling, Forto’s new product Ocean Plastic Prevention is said to offer businesses “a unique opportunity to contribute to cleaner oceans”.

Forto says there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste in the ocean, with 5000,000 tons of plastic being added every year and no global agreement to reduce plastic waste. The digital freight forwarder adds that if current trends continue, the amount of plastic entering the oceans is set to double in the next ten years.

“Close to 700 marine species are now known to be harmed by plastic, of which more than 100 are endangered. Its economic impact on coastal communities is estimated to be up to 19 billion USD per year. Plastics are, indeed, magnets for toxic chemicals, which, when consumed by the fish that gets eaten, potentially impacts the health of the three billion people who rely on seafood as their primary source of protein,” says Forto.

According to Forto, the majority of ocean plastic spills out from rivers, with 1% of rivers being responsible for 80% of plastic in the oceans. Therefore, intercepting plastic in rivers is much more cost-effective than dealing with the consequences downstream.

Forto says that Ocean Plastic Prevention works by companies purchasing plastic credits, which represent the amount of plastic that Plastic Fischer recovers and recycles from the Citarum river – one of the world’s most polluted rivers – close to the city of Bandung in Indonesia, which is the home of many of Forto’s customers’ factories.

Using the “award-winning TrashBoom technology”, Plastic Fischer has installed 10 systems in the Citarum river and has already stopped, collected and managed over 200 tons of river plastic according to Forto.

“Every kilogram of non-organic material collected is tracked with a tool provided by Empower.eco. Blockchain technology will ensure the tracking data cannot be changed and therefore will safeguard the process against corruption. At any given moment in time, it will be possible to know how much has been collected, sorted, stored, or has been sent for co-processing or recycling,” claims the digital freight forwarder.

For each kilogram of prevented ocean plastic that a customer procures, Forto purchases 1 kilogram on top until the first 10,000 kilograms are achieved. The matching scheme runs until the first UN Sustainable Transport Day on November 26, 2023.

Commenting on the new service, Achim Jüchter, Head of Sustainable Logistics Offering at Forto, said:

“Plastic pollution in our oceans is a serious problem that needs immediate attention. We believe that businesses have a significant role to play in protecting our planet. With our Ocean Plastic Prevention service, every shipment can contribute directly to reducing ocean plastic. It is easy to integrate with existing workflows and provides verified information about the quantity of plastic collected and offset, allowing companies to confidently communicate their sustainability efforts to stakeholders.”

Jüchter added:

“We are proud to be collaborating with Plastic Fischer on this initiative, whose strong record in plastic recovery and positive impact on the local economy has led us to choose them from a pool of 20 potential providers evaluated on 24 criteria. Together, and with our customers, we will contribute to stopping ocean plastic by cleaning rivers.”


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