Henkel has announced a new partnership with Waste Free Oceans to remove plastic waste from waterways and transform it into more than a million bottles, which will then be used for its Loveables laundry brand.

The collaboration is said to be the largest that the NGO has agreed to date and will span three years. Together, the partners aim to remove enough plastic from rivers, lakes, seas and oceans to produce 100 metric tons of usable recyclable material each year.

“Oceans and rivers are among the most expansive and diverse resources on Earth, but we don’t protect them as well as we should,” says Bernard Merkx, Co-Founder of Waste Free Oceans. “An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year, which is the equivalent of 15 grocery bags filled with plastic for every meter of coastline in the world. At Waste Free Oceans, our answer is to enter into partnerships to tackle this problem together. We’re now delighted to be working with Henkel and organizing remediation actions together: It’s our largest and most ambitious partnership with one unique partner so far – aiming to remove enough marine litter from the environment to produce 100 metric tons of usable recycled material every year for at least three years.”

“Our partnership with Waste Free Oceans is another step forward in our commitment to promoting sustainable packaging and recycling,” added Thomas Müller-Kirschbaum, Head of Global Research and Development in Henkel’s Laundry & Home Care business unit. “Together, we can remove a meaningful amount of plastic from the environment, while also raising consumer awareness of marine plastic litter and the need to better protect our oceans and rivers.”