As a maritime technology startup based in Norway, the ocean is not just a nice view from our office - but the very reason we exist. Our innovations, business, and future is linked to the health and sustainability of marine environments.
According to a 2021 UN report, it is estimated that there is between 75 and 199 million tons of plastic in the ocean, with a new 8-12 tons of plastic ending up in the sea globally every year (Norwegian Centre against Marine Litter).
That’s a lot, and not something we can simply solve ourselves. But every small effort counts, and with motivation to make a tangible difference our team decided to dedicate a Saturday to a beach cleanup, armed with gloves, trash bags, and a lot of enthusiasm, to prevent plastic and other waste from entering the beautiful Oslo fjord.
The beach looked rather clean on the surface, but in between thorny bushes and big rocks we found a lot of bottles, cans, socks (?), disposable grills, and other hidden debris. Even stickers disguised as leaves (!)
After the cleanup we rewarded ourselves with a BBQ in the sun at the newly cleaned beach, pondering what beach to clean next.
A big thanks to the team who showed up, and to Rydde (Norwegian Environment Agency and Hold Norge Rent) for making it so easy to help keeping the coastline waste-free by providing free cleanup equipment.
