Prevented Ocean Plastic™ (POP) is a traceable, high-quality recycled plastic collected in coastal areas where waste is most likely to enter the ocean. Each bottle or tray made from POP is fully documented from collection to production, helping brands like KURE Oxygen Water prove the origin and integrity of their packaging.
How Prevented Ocean Plastic™ Began
The initiative draws inspiration from research by Dr Jenna Jambeck, whose landmark 2015 Science paper revealed that over 8 million tonnes of plastic leak into the ocean each year, primarily from coastal regions lacking waste management systems.
POP focuses on these areas using clear criteria:
• Limited or overwhelmed waste infrastructure
• Population or tourism-driven waste pressure
• Proximity (within 50 km) to coastlines or waterways feeding the ocean
• Significant ecological risk to marine life
Why Prevention Beats Ocean Clean-Ups
Once plastic hits salt water and sunlight, it fragments quickly into microplastics that are nearly impossible to recover. POP’s prevention-first model keeps waste out of the ocean by intercepting it early, strengthening local recycling economies and supporting coastal livelihoods.
Compared with clean-ups, prevention delivers far greater environmental and social return on effort.
How the POP Supply Chain Works
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Collection in at-risk coastal areas
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Sorting at source to maintain material purity
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Washing and recycling to European & North American standards
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Batch testing and auditing for full traceability
Every shipment of Prevented Ocean Plastic™ carries a documented chain of custody, ensuring quality and authenticity from shoreline to shelf.
What Makes POP Different
Many recycled plastics are mixed from multiple waste streams, resulting in inconsistent clarity and performance. POP’s early sorting process produces premium rPET with consistent colour and strength, perfect for food-grade packaging.
The programme also enforces ethical working conditions, PPE standards and fair pay, making it one of the few recycling models with both environmental and social certification.
Where You’ll Find It
Prevented Ocean Plastic™ now appears in:
• Bottled drinks such as KURE Oxygen Water
• Food trays and cleaning products
• Personal-care packaging
• NHS home-test components
Its growing use proves that traceable recycled packaging can meet strict hygiene and compliance standards.
What It Means for Brands
Using POP helps companies:
• Replace virgin plastic with certified recycled content
• Verify material provenance through audit trails
• Support community recycling infrastructure in high-risk regions
• Communicate sustainability with credible data, not vague claims
What It Means for You
Consumers drive demand. By choosing products with the Prevented Ocean Plastic™ logo, recycling correctly, and favouring traceable packaging, you help close the loop. Every bottle returned to recycling keeps plastic in the circular economy and out of the sea.
“When people support projects that make the better choice in a genuine and real way, the world really does start to change.” — Raffi Schieir, Director of Prevented Ocean Plastic™
KURE × Prevented Ocean Plastic™
KURE’s bottles are made from 100% Prevented Ocean Plastic™, collected and processed to strict international standards. We chose POP because it offers two things that matter most in packaging: quality you can see and traceability you can stand behind.
By preventing ocean waste before it starts, KURE supports clean coastlines, reduces virgin plastic use and invests in a truly circular packaging future.
