By: Lizzy Good

A frequently discussed topic is how the earth’s oceans are polluted. Many are trying to find a way to prevent it, or to solve this problem. Two individuals who took action in cleaning up our oceans and beaches are named Alex Schulze and Andrew Cooper, who are the founders of an organization called 4Ocean.

4Ocean was first thought of when Schulze and Cooper were on a surfing trip to Bali, Indonesia. While they were there, they noticed all of the trash coming in with each wave of the ocean. Schulze and Cooper realized just how awful the ocean plastic crisis was, so they decided to do something about it.  

4Ocean has been in operation since 2017. They originated in Bali, Indonesia, with a mission to clean up all of the coastlines that are littered with plastic pollution. Currently, they operate in Florida, U.S.A, in Haiti, and continuing their work in Bali, Indonesia. 4Ocean sells bracelets on their website. For every bracelet sold, a pound of plastic waste is removed from the ocean. The profit made off of the bracelets goes to furthering 4Ocean’s ocean and coastline clean-ups.

As of November 7th, 2019, 7,097,554 pounds of pollution have been collected by 4Ocean. In addition to the bracelets sold in their shop, they sell t-shirts, clean-up gear for picking up plastic, and one-use plastic alternatives. One-use plastic alternatives include reusable water bottles, metal straws, and reusable plastic grocery bags. One-use plastic can take a lot of the blame for plastic pollution. People can just toss it on the ground when they are done. 4Ocean sells clean-up gear so that way they can inspire others to continue their work.