ISE and UpGyres Partner to Create Recovery Solutions

Photocredit: Donna Paul–Marine Photo Bank

27 February 2014, Vancouver, Canada – Upcycle the Gyres Society (UpGyres) and International Submarine Engineering Ltd. (ISE) are pleased to announce that they have agreed in principle to a long-term strategic partnership to design, model, develop, prototype and produce mission specific custom robotic systems to be used for the profitable, safe and sustainable recovery of plastic soup garbage from the world’s oceanic convergence zones. These new systems will leverage ISE’s existing ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle), AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) and USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle) product lines.

This partnership supports UpGyres ongoing push to deliver efficient, ecological and regenerative ocean waste management and energy solutions.

“We’re excited that ISE has chosen to join our efforts to solve this problem. Combining UpGyres expertise together with ISE’s experience creates the right platform to increase awareness of, foster debate about, and help realize the benefits of recovering discarded plastics of all sizes from the surface and water column that are adversely affecting our marine environment and food chain,” said José Luis Gutiérrez-García, UpGyres Project Director.

ISE and UpGyres both seek to:

• Create and provide breakthrough technologies and equipment for collecting macro, meso, and micro plastics from the world’s oceans with unprecedented accuracy, efficiency, profitability and safety to wildlife; including plankton.
• Create and provide critical tools to accelerate research of oceanic plastic pollution and subsequent remediation.
• Catalyze the development of the new industry of regenerative marine waste management to demonstrate the monetary, social and environmental value of cleaning up the ocean from the billions of kilos and decades of accumulation of plastic waste.
• Inspire innovations in ocean cleanup technologies to produce cost-effective, safe, durable and scalable ocean plastic cleanup up equipment and processes that can be deployed from specialized collection and processing vessels, fishing boats, yachts, and sailboats that can contribute to the cleanup effort during anchored time and oil and gas platforms that wish to implement a recovery program to help keep the ocean around them plastic free.
• Attract likeminded donors, sponsors, and partners to help us succeed.
• Provide widespread exposure, and media coverage, for our donors, sponsors and partners.

There are an estimated 142 billion kilos or 315 billion pounds of plastic waste swirling in the oceans; when recovered with the right equipment and method, this trash could potentially contribute revenues and value added by the hundreds of millions and create a modest amount of jobs at sea and ports while helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.