Planet

Largest clean-up in history helps turn the tide on ocean pollution

Akzonobel | Oct 27, 2017

SHARE

AkzoNobel recently partnered with The Ocean Cleanup for the largest clean-up in history. For the next five years, AkzoNobel will be providing biocide-free coatings technology for all the devices and equipment used by The Ocean Cleanup. The partnership represents a major contribution to the organization’s landmark efforts to clear plastic from oceans and is due to begin in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the next 12 months.

The Ocean Cleanup

Ocean pollution is a serious global issue impacting the society and planet’s future. Founded in 2013, The Ocean Cleanup aims to remove half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the space of just five years. It employs U-shaped screens to channel floating plastic to a central point. The concentrated plastic can then be extracted and shipped to shore for recycling into durable products.

AkzoNobel as the marine coatings industry leader

Under the International brand, AkzoNobel Marine Coatings was the first to develop self-polishing copolymers (SPC), the first to abandon Tributyltin (TBT) biocidal antifouling coatings, the first to launch biocide-free antifouling Intersleek, and the first to be awarded carbon credits in the marine industry to support the sale of sustainable technology. Being a pioneer of sustainability and innovation for coatings in the marine industry, AkzoNobel holds values similar to those of The Ocean Cleanup – with both striving towards a more sustainable future that’s driven by innovation. With the common goal of tackling the health of the world’s oceans, both companies decided to come together to offer solutions for tackling one of the Earth’s biggest challenges.

Benefits of the Intersleek product range

Through this partnership, AkzoNobel and The Ocean Cleanup aim to turn the tide on marine pollution, ultimately seeking the complete removal of trash from the world’s oceans. This will be done through the provision of AkzoNobel’s award-winning Intersleek product range as coatings for the floating devices used to clean the oceans in the next five years.

Intersleek is part of AkzoNobel’s comprehensive marine brand, International, that has been leading in the area of sustainability and innovation for the past 135 years. First launched in 1996, Intersleek is the industry’s first biocide-free foul-release technology. To date, it has been used in more than 5,500 applications and has helped save over $3 billion in fuel costs and 32 million tons of CO2, making the shipping industry more sustainable.

Intersleek 1100SR, the ground-breaking innovation which delivers outstanding macro and micro fouling control with improved static resistance, even in warm waters, is suitable for slow steaming. It allows ship owners and operators to maintain performance throughout the full docking cycle for all commercial vessels. The key benefits of this technology include independently verified fuel and emissions savings of up to nine percent, resulting in up to nine percent reduction in CO2 emissions.

Being biocide-free, there is no leaching of biocides into the sea. This offers cost advantages at the next drydocking on waste treatment and disposal, as well as enhanced environmental profile.

Intersleek also has higher volume solids and lower required film thickness than SPC systems. Only a single full coat is required every five years through a vessels lifetime, therefore paint consumption is significantly reduced – further enhancing customer’s environmental profile.

Articles

NESTLE

Your subscription has now been confirmed. We look forward to keeping you up to date on the latest news around sustainable development in your chosen fields.

www.nestle.com