Catching Up with The Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup
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Catching Up with The Ocean Cleanup

Catching Up is a podcast by The Ocean Cleanup, giving you updates and insights from the team behind the non-profit organization. The Ocean Cleanup is designing and developing cleanup systems to clean up what is already polluting our oceans and to intercept plastic on its way to the ocean via rivers. Their end goal is to remove 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040.

  1. Community Voices | Creating a better future

    5 NOV

    Community Voices | Creating a better future

    This month, our host, Dan van der Kooy, records the 50th episode of Catching Up in Kingston, Jamaica, sitting on a fishing boat with Jerome "Cliff" Clifford and Colin "Dean" Palmer. Cliff and Dean are two local fishermen from Seaview Gardens, a neighborhood along Sandy Gully in Kingston, Jamaica. Their neighborhood is directly affected by the trash pouring out of the gully each day. Cliff and Dean share stories of what it was like prior to the pollution and discuss the importance of cleaning it up. They share their pride in being part of a major project like the new Interceptor solution and their desire to leave a better future for the local community, fishermen, and future generations. We also hear about the community's involvement in The Ocean Cleanup's deployments in the area. Their goal is to preserve the environment, ensuring that future generations have somewhere to go fishing, something to eat, and a strong community. Right now, they're making history to make sure there's a future. Kingston, Jamaica, is our first Interceptor city. Learn more about it here: ⁠https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/kingston-jamaica-the-first-interceptor-city/⁠ Thank you to all our listeners! We can't believe we have recorded 50 episodes, and we wouldn't have been able to do so without your support. To stay up to date with our latest developments, subscribe to our newsletter at theoceancleanup.com or follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, X.

    33 min
  2. “Can” Culture | The importance of being in the region

    24 SEPT

    “Can” Culture | The importance of being in the region

    This month, we sit down with Tarkessh Mahendran, our Waste Manager in Malaysia, to discuss the vibe in our Kuala Lumpur regional office and the importance of having a team on the ground, physically located in Southeast Asia. Tarkessh speaks about cultural differences between working in Malaysia and Rotterdam, such as the subtler communication styles in Asia compared to more direct approaches in Europe. He also gives an update on the new sorting center being built on the Klang River to improve plastic recycling, and what this will mean for the future of our Interceptor projects on the Klang.

    24 min
  3. Remote Operations | A River Solution on the Edge of Guatemala

    27 AUG

    Remote Operations | A River Solution on the Edge of Guatemala

    This month's podcast is from the remote and windy shore of the Rio Motagua. Robert Leijgraaf, aka Bobby, Project Engineer at The Ocean Cleanup, sits with our host, Dan van der Kooy, in the fishing village of El Quetzalito, Guatemala. We're about to deploy the second Interceptor Solution in Guatemala. Bobby talks about the need for another Interceptor Barricade at the end of the Rio Motagua and what we learned from the first project in the country. Interceptor Barricade XL will be about 300km upstream from the first Interceptor Barricade. If it all goes well, the combined impact of the two deployments will stop river pollution right before it enters the Caribbean Sea. Learn more about our new deployment here.

    24 min
  4. Other Impacts | Building a Blueprint to Measure the Unknown

    30 JUL

    Other Impacts | Building a Blueprint to Measure the Unknown

    Not everyone who dedicates their life to dirty oceans and rivers comes from somewhere close to a body of water. Matthias Egger, Head of Environmental and Social Affairs, hails from the Swiss mountains and dedicates his life to the science of making oceans and rivers cleaner for marine life and humans in the future. He discusses how we help local communities by addressing global problems through a holistic but specific lens. While solving pollution on a small scale and changing people's lives, we work on global solutions. We use the data from river deployments in various countries to develop a blueprint for the future by writing Environmental and Social Impact Assessments. This way, we mitigate risks, monitor our actions to create a larger impact on the world, publish research, and strive to make upstream changes. For example, Matthias shares his experience at the INC negotiations, where over 160 countries work on the first international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. He also talks about his personal experiences throughout his six years working for The Ocean Cleanup and what this means to him as a father. Learn more about how we contribute to environmental and social impact here: https://theoceancleanup.com/environmental-and-social-impact/

    48 min
  5. Future Impact | Our Real Bosses

    25 JUN

    Future Impact | Our Real Bosses

    It’s ‘Bring Your Kids To Work Day’ at The Ocean Cleanup HQ! Your host, Dan van der Kooy, has traveled the world braving all kinds of hazardous environments to bring you the stories of our mission. But is he ready for his toughest test yet? We’re not just ridding the oceans of plastic for today: we’re doing it for the next generation, too - and they have some thoughts! Here, children of crew members tell Dan how proud they are of their parent’s work at The Ocean Cleanup, why it’s so essential to protect fish and other animals in the oceans, and how they want to help other kids all over the world: as Milly puts it, ‘we should all help and make this a better place.’ All of us at The Ocean Cleanup say a huge thank you to Emma, Theo, Milly, Suvie, Harvey, Quentin, Noah, Jacob, Aurelia, Rex, Rafael, Flip and Amy for their fantastic appearances - some in their second language - in this special episode! To see how we’re cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, see here: https://theoceancleanup.com/oceans/ Most ocean plastic comes from rivers: see how we’re deploying Interceptors in the world’s most polluting rivers here: https://theoceancleanup.com/rivers/ We recently announced our first official partner product with Coldplay - check out the Notebook Edition LP of their new album ‘Moon Music’ containing 70% recycled river plastic intercepted in Guatemala - see how we did it here: https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/the-ocean-cleanup-and-coldplay-announce-lp-made-using-plastic-intercepted-in-guatemala/

    37 min
  6. Pollution Law | Navigating the rules

    28 MAY

    Pollution Law | Navigating the rules

    Not all lawyers stay in the office or the courtroom. Letícia Abreu Passos de Souza grew up seeing the damage caused by pollution in her native Brazil - and now she’s using the law to do something about it. As Director of Legal and Public Affairs at The Ocean Cleanup, Letícia guides our crew through different laws and rules in countries around the world - as well as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. She tells Catching Up how understanding local laws helps us work with local authorities in the best way and makes our Interceptor deployments more efficient - helping us catch plastic faster and with greater impact. Letícia tells us the importance of having ‘boots on the ground’ to truly understand how the law can help tackle plastic pollution in a local community, and shares her hopes for a new world effort to solve the problem through a Global Plastics Treaty. Learn more on how we contribute to law and public policy here: https://theoceancleanup.com/global-public-affairs/ See our blogpost on cleanup and the Global Plastics Treaty here: https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/global-plastics-treaty-why-legacy-plastic-cleanup-is-essential/

    38 min
  7. Relationship Building | Bangkok Begins

    30 APR

    Relationship Building | Bangkok Begins

    We're in Bangkok, Thailand, where Interceptor 019 has been deployed as our first step in cleaning the Chao Phraya - one of the world's busiest rivers. Charlotte de Jong, Business Development Manager at The Ocean Cleanup, has spent years preparing for this moment, collaborating with dozens of partners, and facing the challenges of placing an Interceptor in a prime central location in one of the world's great cities. Catching Up hears how Charlotte has worked together with Thai administrators, volunteers, and businesses to ensure Interceptor 019 has maximum impact and visibility for Bangkok's residents and how our technology and expertise require local expertise and ownership to complete our mission of ridding the oceans of plastic. Read more about Interceptor 019 in Bangkok here: https://theoceancleanup.com/updates/bangkok-begins-the-ocean-cleanups-interceptor-019-comes-to-thailand/ Find out how we're intercepting plastic in the world's most polluting rivers here: https://theoceancleanup.com/rivers/

    35 min
  8. Taking Action | Part of the Solution

    26 MAR

    Taking Action | Part of the Solution

    How do we clean the oceans? With a little help from our friends, of course - and Ewan Topping, Senior Partnership Manager at The Ocean Cleanup, is the man who helps us find them. Hundreds of organizations collaborate with The Ocean Cleanup, and Ewan tells us the key to attracting the right support: identify a shared problem and find partners motivated to solve it. But it's not all about big organizations - many of you, our listeners, support The Ocean Cleanup each month. Ewan tells us how this is now easier than ever with our new fundraising platform, ready for anyone around the world to help us rid the oceans of plastic. Does your organization want to help rid the oceans of plastic? Read on: https://theoceancleanup.com/partners-and-funders/ Want to make an impact? Start fundraising for The Ocean Cleanup here: https://fund.theoceancleanup.com/

    35 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Catching Up is a podcast by The Ocean Cleanup, giving you updates and insights from the team behind the non-profit organization. The Ocean Cleanup is designing and developing cleanup systems to clean up what is already polluting our oceans and to intercept plastic on its way to the ocean via rivers. Their end goal is to remove 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040.

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