Nonprofit Organization based in San Francisco 🇺🇸
To Combat #OceanPlasticPollution
Plastic Odyssey is a global initiative dedicated to tackling plastic pollution in the world’s most affected regions. Over the past eight years, it has built a worldwide network of recycling and reduction solutions, working to prevent plastic waste from reaching the ocean. Now, Plastic Odyssey is launching a new phase: large-scale missions to restore biodiversity in protected areas overwhelmed by plastic pollution, starting with the 50 priority sites listed by UNESCO.
Photos: Henderson Island Expedition, The Impossible Cleanup (February 2024)
A Worldwide Adventure
Plastic Odyssey Fund was co-founded by Simon Bernard and Alexandre Dechelotte, co-founders of Plastic Odyssey, along with Fabien Lamaison, a social and climate entrepreneur. As the flagship for Plastic Odyssey’s mission in the U.S., this new nonprofit entity is dedicated to tackling ocean plastic pollution by scaling low-tech, community-driven solutions and fostering innovation in waste reduction. To achieve this, Plastic Odyssey Fund will help drive the organization’s international expansion by engaging philanthropies, foundations, corporate donors, and government actors to mobilize resources and accelerate impact.
Scaling The Impossible Cleanups: UNESCO Marine Restoration Missions
Building on the success of its 2024 Proof of Concept mission on Henderson Island, Plastic Odyssey is now launching large-scale UNESCO Marine Restoration Missions—part of its Impossible Cleanups initiative—to remove plastic pollution from the 50 most vulnerable and isolated UNESCO Marine Heritage Sites. These sites act as natural plastic traps, accumulating plastic waste at concentrations up to 400 times higher than the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Their extreme remoteness has long made clean-ups seem impossible—until now.
Plastic Odyssey’s approach combines proven extraction methods, mobile recycling units, and scientific research to make large-scale clean-ups viable. By optimizing operations, the cost of plastic removal is reduced to just $10 per kilogram—a 10x efficiency gain compared to traditional open-ocean cleanups. Each mission deploys a sail-powered research and cleanup fleet, designed to operate within fragile ecosystems, preventing further microplastic breakdown and transforming collected waste into durable, sequestered products through containerized mini-recycling factories installed in nearby coastal communities.
To scale this effort, Plastic Odyssey Fund is launching a $30 million fundraising campaign over six years in the U.S. to support initiatives that restore marine biodiversity, protect vital coastal ecosystems, and establish a self-sustaining model for large-scale cleanup and recycling efforts.
About Plastic Odyssey Fund
Plastic Odyssey Fund (EIN 99-4899981) is a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation headquartered in San Francisco. Established to combat plastic pollution, the fund engages U.S. philanthropies, corporations, governments, and individual donors in supporting Plastic Odyssey’s initiatives worldwide. By driving these efforts, Plastic Odyssey Fund helps scale innovative solutions, protect ocean ecosystems, and raise awareness. Plastic Odyssey Fund is also part of the 9Zero climate community.
About Plastic Odyssey
Plastic Odyssey is a global expedition dedicated to solving the plastic pollution crisis by acting on land before waste reaches the ocean. Through innovative and low-tech solutions, the organization empowers local communities to repurpose plastic waste into valuable resources.
With its 40-meter laboratory ship as a flagship, Plastic Odyssey shares open-source innovations, trains entrepreneurs worldwide, and works to restore ecosystems devastated by plastic pollution.
Contact us
Donate now
Important Disclaimer: Plastic Odyssey Fund is a nonprofit organization (Tax-ID / EIN: 99-4899981) that has applied for recognition of tax-exempt status in the U.S. under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. While our application is pending with the IRS, donations are not guaranteed to be tax-deductible. If our application is approved, tax-exempt status will be retroactive to the date of our incorporation on July 22, 2024, potentially making your donation tax-deductible. Please consult your tax advisor regarding the tax implications of your contribution.