Kia Corporation has developed a trunk-liner accessory made from plastic extracted from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) – a vast collection of debris currently polluting that ocean – by The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit environmental group dedicated to developing and scaling technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.
As one of the most significant outcomes of the partnership so far, Kia will introduce the trunk liner for the new Kia EV3, The accessory will be available for EV3 in selected markets and available to order in line with the model’s market introduction.
Made with 40 per cent recycled ocean plastic, the trunk liner is, the company says, just as durable, protective and functional as a conventional trunk liner.
The Ocean Cleanup reclaims plastic from the ocean, separates the catch with fibrous material, such as fishing nets, sorted by type of plastic and colour. It is then processed using recycling technology and the material is then shredded, washed, dried and re-granulated into plastic pellets. Those pellets are then delivered to Kia.
“As the first genuine Kia accessory made using reclaimed ocean plastic, we are proud to see tangible progress made toward creating a circular resource system for ocean plastic,” said Charles Ryu, Executive Vice President and Head of the Global Brand & CX Division, Kia. “We will leverage the lessons learned during the recycling and product development process to continue to manufacture useful and beneficial products for our customers using ocean plastic retrieved and provided by The Ocean Cleanup.”
Kia says it has pledged to increase the use of sustainable materials in its future products and raise application of recycled plastic in vehicles to more than 20 per cent by 2030.
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (November 2024)
12 November 2024