New Zealand based sustainable retailer Ecostore said on Wednesday it will launch a range of hand wash bottles made entirely of recycled ocean waste plastic, removing over half a tonne of plastic waste from the ocean in the process.

The 20,000 bottles were made in partnership with global packaging manufacturer Pack Tech, in an effort to clean up the Java Sea in Bali, and a river in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

Additionally, Ecostore have begun collaborating with NZ based Sea Cleaners in an effort to expand their efforts in New Zealand.

“We want to raise awareness of plastic pollution in our oceans, as well as being part of the solution,” Ecostore managing director Pablo Kraus said. 

“By making bottles out of ocean waste plastic, Ecostore will help create awareness and inspire environmental and social solutions posed by waste pollution in the oceans.”

According to Pack Tech business development of ocean waste plastic Per Martin Mortensen, utilising ocean waste plastic not only reduces the total amount of plastic in the world, but cleans oceans of dangerous plastics. 

“We try to find new ways to achieve a more sustainable future for both the environment and the packaging industry,” Mortensen said. 

“We need to create circular supply chains and re-use plastic once extracted from the oceans and from nearby areas where plastic potentially floats into the oceans.”

According to the World Economic Forum report, eight million tonnes of plastic enters the world’s oceans each year, the equivalent of one garbage truck dumped into the ocean each minute – a rate which is set to triple in the next decade, with plastic to outnumber fish by weight in the oceans by 2050.

Sea Cleaners founder Hayden Smith said business needs to step up and create positive change in the world. 

“Ways to do this include collecting and reusing plastic, increasing the use of recycled plastic, and modifying product packaging designs,” Smith said.