Swedish home appliance manufacturer Electrolux is launching a new campaign to raise awareness of plastic waste and recycling initiatives with its most recent vacuum model.
The “Vac From the Sea” initiative aims to bring attention to the plastic that ends up in marine environments, ultimately harming sea life and disrupting ecosystems.
The program also serves in addressing the issue of the disparity between supply and demand for recycled plastics necessary in making sustainable home appliances.
Vac From the Sea actually relocates plastic salvaged from ocean garbage islands and relocates it to people’s homes — in the form of a vacuum cleaner.
The vacuum is effective physical reminder for consumers that the plastic bags for and packaging of things they buy end up somewhere — most often in a defenseless marine habitat. It is also an example of a sustainable plastic home appliance made from recycled materials.
One of the world’s largest floating garbage islands exists in the Pacific, and this is precisely the site from which Electrolux will take the “materials” from which to make their vacuums.
Materials will also be harvested from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as smaller bodies of water, such as the Mediterranean, North, and Baltic Seas.
The plastic will literally be dove and fished for, and scooped up during tides by volunteers and other local experts.
Electrolux’s green range vacuum cleaners are 70% recycled plastic, but the Stockholm-based company strives for more…
Engineers are working on building 100% recycled models for all ranges.
“There are plastic islands, some several times the size of the state of Texas, floating in our oceans. Yet on land, we struggle to get hold of enough recycled plastics to meet the demand for sustainable vacuum cleaners. What the world needs now is a better plastic karma,” Cecilia Nord, Vice President of the Floor Care Environmental and Sustainability Affairs department for Electrolux, explains.
“This issue is much too important to leave to politicians. Companies, consumers, and politicians are equally accountable for the situation. Since our company delivers appliances to millions of homes, we have an opportunity to raise awareness and affect consumer decisions,” Nord says.
And if not for the fish and gulls, consumers could at the very least be concerned about the inevitability of plastic making its way back to the supermarket and dinner tables eventually.
Plastic breaks down in water into smaller pieces after time — water that animals are swimming and feeding in. The same plastic Coca-cola bottle that was tossed into the bay or made its way from the edge of the expressway and down to a river bed eventually comes back to the top of the food chain…
Us.
The Vac From the Sea initiative notes that land supply of recycled plastic is significantly lower than the demand. What this means is that if we could all do a better job of keeping plastic from becoming a piece of an ocean garbage island, it is much more likely to become a part of a recycled-content consumer product.
“More recycling directly translates into more sustainable appliances and homes. Our engineers have managed to get our green range vacuum cleaners up to 70 percent recycled plastic but our ultimate vision is of course 100 percent, and for all ranges,” says Jonas Magnusson, Product Marketing Manager at Electrolux.
Check out Electrolux’s promotional video for Vac From the Sea:
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