Kia Officially Sponsors Nonprofit Organization for Marine Debris Removal

Kia President Song Ho-sung (left in the photo) and Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, are posing for a commemorative photo after the signing ceremony.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Kia announced on the 28th that it has formed a partnership with The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch non-profit organization engaged in removing marine plastics and waste for the purpose of ocean cleaning.

The organization develops and researches technologies to remove plastics from the world's oceans by blocking plastics flowing in from rivers and removing those already accumulated on the seabed. They have developed a system that cleans plastics swirling and floating in the Pacific Garbage Patch and an Interceptor solution that extracts plastics before river water reaches the sea.

Kia plans to support the organization's activities by not only cleaning rivers and oceans but also establishing a resource circulation system that produces Kia finished vehicles or recycles using the collected plastics. Over the next seven years, Kia will provide cash and in-kind support to sponsor the cleanup project and use steel supplied by Kia when manufacturing Interceptor barges. Additionally, Kia will provide four electric vehicles and operational expenses.

Boyan Slat, founder of The Ocean Cleanup, said, "Through this collaboration, we will not only clean the oceans but also provide solutions for recycled plastics to be used in sustainable ways."

Song Ho-sung, President of Kia, stated, "Kia's vision for a sustainable future focuses on fostering positive changes across the entire ecosystem of our industry, beyond just changes in products and services. Moving forward, we will continue to create inspiring movements for many people through open partnerships with various collaborators who have innovative technologies and ideas."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.