Prevented Ocean Plastic (POP) has officially announced a significant expansion of its long-standing partnership with PF Concept, transitioning from standard material sourcing to directly funding critical waste collection infrastructure in coastal communities. Beginning in 2026, the collaboration includes financing new waste collection trucks in Indonesia to specifically target single-use polypropylene (PP) plastic cups. By actively preventing these plastics from entering the marine environment, the collected waste is directly fed back into PF Concept’s own supply chain. This pioneering initiative demonstrates how closed-loop systems can create high-quality, food-safe reusable products while simultaneously providing stable income opportunities for local communities in developing regions.
The Polypropylene Challenge in the Circular Economy
On a global scale, billions of single-use plastic cups are discarded every year. A significant portion of this waste is at a high risk of entering the world’s oceans, primarily due to insufficient or non-existent local collection infrastructure in developing coastal regions.
Polypropylene (PP) presents a particularly severe challenge within the recycling industry. Despite its widespread and heavy use in food and beverage applications across the globe, currently, only around 1 percent of polypropylene is recycled worldwide. This exceptionally low rate is largely driven by limited specialized collection and processing infrastructure.
To address this critical gap, Prevented Ocean Plastic has developed a world-first, food-safe recycled polypropylene supply chain. This highly controlled system has been officially validated for use in strict European markets, ensuring full traceability, stringent quality control, and complete regulatory compliance regarding health and safety standards.
Direct Infrastructure Investment in Indonesia
The partnership between the two entities dates back to 2020, when PF Concept began using POP material in selected items, including their H2O Active Eco bottle range. Under the newly expanded agreement starting in 2026, PF Concept is taking a proactive financial role by directly supporting the purchase of plastic collection trucks in Indonesia.
These new vehicles will be deployed by Prevented Ocean Plastic on previously underserved coastal collection routes. The initiative serves a vital dual purpose: it actively stops single-use PP cups from washing into the ocean, and it creates stable, formal income opportunities for local waste collectors.
The quantitative expectations for this logistical expansion are massive. Over their operational lifetime, the three trucks funded by PF Concept are expected to enable the collection of more than 100,000 tonnes of plastic. To put this volume into perspective, this equates to approximately 34.5 billion single-use plastic cups.
Closing the Loop: The Cirrus and Alto Tumblers
What makes this expanded partnership truly unique in the industry is the direct, tangible link between coastal waste collection and end-product manufacturing. The specific polypropylene cups collected through these newly established Indonesian routes will be processed by Prevented Ocean Plastic and supplied directly back into PF Concept’s own supply chain.
This recovered material will be utilized to manufacture PF Concept’s “Made in the UK” Cirrus and Alto reusable tumblers. The manufacturing specifications for these products represent a major step forward in sustainable design:
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The tumblers are manufactured using a 100 percent polypropylene mono-material.
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Exactly 50 percent of this composition consists of the newly recycled coastal material.
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By choosing a mono-material design, the final products are fully recyclable at the end of their lifespan, enabling true, uncompromising circularity.
The environmental impact per item is also highly measurable: each Cirrus or Alto tumbler produced using this specific material represents more than 10 single-use polypropylene drinking water cups physically removed from the environment.
Corporate Vision: Measurability and Responsibility
Raffi Schieir, the Founder of Prevented Ocean Plastic, emphasized the necessity of targeting PP waste: “Polypropylene is one of the most widely used plastics in the world, yet only around 1% is recycled globally. This partnership with PF Concept directly addresses that gap by funding the infrastructure needed to recover polypropylene cups before they enter our oceans. By connecting collection, recycling and manufacturing into one transparent system, we can turn overlooked waste into valuable, food-safe material.”
Anne Karine Lemstra, VP of Sustainable Development at PF Concept, highlighted the importance of tangible results: “We entered this partnership because we believe sustainability must deliver real, measurable impact. […] Every cup sold represents polypropylene waste removed from the environment and designed back into a fully recyclable, mono-material product. This is not about claims—it is about responsibility, traceability and making circularity work in practice: Rescue. Recycle. Reuse. Repeat.”
Since its inception in 2020, Prevented Ocean Plastic™—supplied by Bantam Materials UK Ltd.—has collected over 2.5 billion plastic bottles from coastal areas. Recognizable on packaging by its distinctive triangular logo, the traceable material is currently utilized by major global manufacturing partners such as Groupe Guillin, Spectra Packaging, and Berry Global across food, drink, personal care, and home cleaning categories.
Reference and Official Source:
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Original Press Release: Prevented Ocean Plastic and PF Concept strengthen partnership (April 9, 2026)