The Ocean Cleanup to Release a River Vinyl Made Entirely of Discarded Plastic

Established in 2013 by Boyan Slat, an aerospace engineering student turned entrepreneur, The Ocean Cleanup project aims to remove pollution from the world’s oceans. To achieve this, the company develops catch systems for both ocean and river waters.

The ocean system consists of a ‘funnel-shaped floating barrier,’ which is towed by two ships and deployed in ocean gyres to effectively collect marine debris. The river system uses so-called interceptors that capture trash at river mouths to prevent it from entering the ocean.

Now, the Ocean Cleanup is taking its effort to the next level, giving reclaimed plastic a new purpose. In partnership with the British band Coldplay — one of the company’s many collaborations to date — a new limited ‘Notebook Edition LP’ will be released for their upcoming album Moon Music.

The plastic used for this project comes directly from Interceptor 006, deployed at the mouth of the Rio Las Vacas River in Honduras since 2023. There, a large amount of plastic waste is prevented from entering the Gulf of Honduras. After collection, the plastic is sorted, blended, and tested.

Coldplay’s limited edition physical release has been manufactured using 70% river plastic and 30% recycled plastic bottles from other sources. The band has provided substantial financial support and contributed to the intensive testing and quality control process with other manufacturing partners, such as Biosfera GT, Compuestos y Derivados S.A., Morssinkhof, and Sonopress.

As of June 2024, The Ocean Cleanup has collected an unbelievable 26.4 million pounds from marine ecosystems worldwide. For their work and tremendous efforts, the project and its founder have earned recognition in many fora, including the United Nations Environment Programme in 2014, the INDEX Award in 2015, and the Norwegian Shipowners' Association's Thor Heyerdahl Award in 2017.