Sea Turtles & Plastic Partners
As part of our Sea Turtles & Plastic program, we provide funding for local efforts to clean up plastic waste and turn it into useful products that support conservation and local communities.
Projects Supported To Date:
Fundacao Principe (Principe Island): This project supports two women-led efforts from two communities. By supporting these initiatives, we will reduce the pressure on turtle hunting and plastic consumption on the island with the collection and repurposing of the plastic that is washed ashore, recycling plastic flip-flops into jewelry and plastic bags into rugs. $5,000 grant (Sep 2022)
Juara Turtle Project (Malaysia): Juara will upgrade their machinery to enable additional onsite plastic waste recycling and improve the recycling center infrastructure to be able to keep up with the supply of plastic waste collected from Tioman island. This saves the community money, avoids carbon emissions, and provides economic benefits for local residents while keeping beaches and waters cleaner. $5,000 grant (July 2022).
Karumbe (Uruguay): The Plastic Free Turtles project works with communities to clean up beaches in one of the areas that has the most impact on sea turtles, as many as 70% of juvenile green turtles feeding in these waters have been found ingesting plastic. This project connects conservation efforts with the community through beach cleanups, with the waste being recycled. $7,500 grant (March 2022).
Eco Mayto (Mexico): This project works with 5 communities along the Pacific coast to collect plastic that would be burned and to keep plastic off of turtle nesting beaches. The money raised by the sale of these products will support turtle conservation and local community members. $5,000 grant (Jan 2022).
COBEC (Kenya): Community-Based Environmental Conservation is leading efforts to get plastic off the beach and out of the water while turning it into useful products that benefit local residents. So far, they have recycled more than 2 tons of plastic waste, provided benefits for more than 300 residents, and reduced the number of turtles impacted by plastic waste. Our grant will allow COBEC to expand their outreach, conduct cleanups, and purchase new equipment. $5,000 grant (Dec 2021).
Green Phenix (Curacao): This innovative social enterprise is helping reduce plastic waste on this Caribbean island. This grant will help conduct beach cleanups and purchase the equipment needed to turn this waste into new products, which will benefit the juvenile green turtles living in Curacao’s waters, create new jobs for local residents, and help the project become self-sustaining. $5,000 grant (Nov 2021).
Research Center for Environmental Management and Development (CIMAD) (Colombia): This organization works with local communities to protect biodiversity in Colombia. This grant is helping to launch a new project that will train women in the rural community of Pangui to recycle plastic bags into handbags that will both reduce plastic pollution and provide a new source of income to local families and sea turtle conservation efforts. $5,000 grant (Nov 2021).
Plastic Cleanup Projects
Through our collaboration, Dots.Eco is helping to fund cleanup of an estimated 350,000 lbs of plastic waste from sea turtle nesting beaches and foraging areas in seven countries in coordination with eight of our Sea Turtles & Plastic partners!
The funding will support the following efforts:
Paso Pacifico (Nicaragua): Estimated plastic cleaned - 25,000 lbs
Karumbe (Uruguay): Estimated plastic cleaned - 50,000 lbs
Our World, Our Sea (Ghana): Estimated plastic cleaned - 56,000 lbs
Latin American Sea Turtles (Costa Rica) Estimated plastic cleaned - 125,000 lbs
Palawan Biodiversity Conservation Advocates (Philippines) Estimated plastic cleaned - 21,000 lbs
COBEC (Kenya) Estimated plastic cleaned - 22,000 lbs
Turtle Love (Costa Rica): Estimated plastic cleaned - 30,000 lbs
Bahari Hai (Kenya): Estimated plastic cleaned - 23,000 lbs
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