What Is Our Plastic Offset Program (POP)
Starboard is guilty of playing a contributing role in the plastic industry. However we are working hard to become part of the solution by offsetting our plastic footprint. At the end of 2017 we initiated the world’s first Plastic Offset Program (POP) funded through an internal taxation initiative. We assign a dollar value to each kg of material (based on which plastics are used) then multiply this by how much is used to make our products.
Our Results So Far
It is that time of year again where we look back and reflect on successes of the last year and beyond. So lets take a look at just how far we have come!
3 Years of POP!
17th of June 2021 saw the POP program reach its 3 year anniversary, completing almost 500 individual clean-ups.
A Growing Team
Over these 3 years 92 individuals have joined the POP program to help us restore the natural beauty of Thailand’s beaches. On average 7 of our amazing collectors take part in each clean-up, collecting on average 463kg per session!
New Targets
Since the very beginning, the Starboard Plastic Offset Program has collected 214,521kg of trash from the beaches of Chon Buri and Pattaya. Every year we continue to aim for bigger and bigger targets, last years target was 70,000KG and the year before that was 50,000KG. This years target is even more ambitious, our POP team are pushing to collect a huge 100,000KG of plastic trash from the beaches.
POP 2021 Milestones
New Chapters
On the 7th June 2021 we opened a second POP chapter with our Thai distributor – Amara Watersports. Since starting their chapter, Amara and her team have collected a huge 9056kg of plastic trash from the beaches of Pattaya.
Better Bags
In 2021 we designed and produced new POP collection bags to replace traditional, plastic trash bags. These reusable bags are made from a blue mesh material that allows the trash collected to dry easily while releasing any sand or water back onto the beach. The mesh material is durable to prevent the bags splitting when full and, unlike plastic trash bags, is reparable making them much longer lasting. In addition, the new bags have strong fabric handles to make them easier for our team of collectors to carry, This combines to make the sorting and cleaning process easier and faster for our POP team.
VERRA Verification
This year we began the affiliation process with the environmental standards organisation VERRA. This will help ensure that POP meets international Plastic Waste Reduction Standards. We hope that we will begin the verification process in 2022.
The Ocean is our Playground.
Let’s keep enjoying our connection with the water by protecting it from trash that should not be there!
