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OUR
IMPACT

 

Pound by pound. Cleanup by cleanup.

Plastic has a far reach across Bali flooding its rivers, washing up on its coastlines, and drifting into the surrounding ocean. Our mission follows it everywhere it goes, meeting pollution at every stage before it can do further harm. From fast-moving river systems after heavy rains to quiet coastal buildup, each cleanup is a response to a constantly shifting problem.

We don’t just remove waste, we measure it. Every effort is tracked with intention: the number of cleanups completed, the pounds of trash removed, and the growing cumulative total that reflects the scale of this work over time. These numbers are more than metrics, they are proof of persistence, of long days in difficult conditions, and of a community showing up again and again.

Month by month, this section tells that story. It captures both the urgency of the problem and the consistency of the response. Because real impact isn’t made in a single moment, it’s built steadily, through every net pulled, every shoreline cleared, and every pound prevented from returning to the ocean.

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A Global Crisis
Requires Global Solutions

4ocean Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We ensure that all contributions are 100% tax deductible, directly funding our mission to clean and preserve the marine environment. Our Foundation focuses exclusively on partnering with local captains and crews to clean plastic and trash from our ocean and creating educational campaigns that expand awareness.

4ocean Foundation was established as a separate entity from the 4ocean Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), our for-profit counterpart. This strategic move was made to expand our impact on ocean conservation by accessing diverse streams of capital and philanthropy.

How We Work

Expand Existing
Cleanup Markets

4ocean Foundation is on a mission to end the ocean plastic crisis by removing plastic waste directly from the world’s ocean, rivers, and coastlines.

Through hands-on cleanups, sustainable partnerships, and global outreach, we work every day to restore the health of our blue planet and protect the ecosystems that depend on it.

4ocean team removing plastic from the ocean

Create New
Cleanup Markets

Plastic pollution and microplastics are one of the greatest health threats facing our ocean and every living being on our planet. At 4ocean Foundation, we are committed to raising awareness about the devastating impacts plastics have on marine life, coastal communities, and global food systems.

By sharing science-based knowledge and real-world stories, we’re helping people understand the urgency of the crisis - and what’s at stake if we don’t act. This story can have a happier ending - we are a proven ocean cleanup team - join us today, help fuel a healthier future for everyone.

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Create and Distribute
Educational Campaigns

4ocean Foundation strives to raise global awareness about the urgent threat of ocean plastic pollution. By sharing educational materials, 4ocean Foundation highlights the critical need for immediate human intervention to protect marine ecosystems and human health. Our campaigns inspire collective action and sustainable practices to prevent plastic pollution from becoming an irreversible crisis.​

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Onshore
Cleanups

daily teams remove debris from beaches, coastlines, and riverbanks, targeting high-impact zones and storm debris fields

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River
Interception

installed booms and manual skimming capture plastic before it reaches the ocean

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Nearshore
Recovery

small craft and crews collect debris in bays, estuaries, and mangrove channels

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Offshore rapid
Response

seasonal operations deploy larger vessels to intercept debris lines during peak inflows in the rainy season

Impact By The Numbers

Donors have empowered 4ocean Foundation to expand ocean clean up impact in the following transformative ways:

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Increasing Crew Engagement For Open Ocean Recovery
by 40%

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Conducting Approximately 800+ Cleanups Per Month

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Increasing Open Ocean Cleanup Vessel Size and Productivity By 500%

The Foundation alone has removed the following from our ocean, rivers, and coastlines:

POUNDS KILOGRAMS

Together with 4ocean Public Benefit and Certified B-Corporation, we've removed 50,000,000+ pounds to date.

The Infrastructure That Powers Our Impact

  • Group 35Year-Round Operations

    That scale during the rainy season when plastic inflows surge

  • Path 167Ethical Local Partnerships

    That create durable impact while supporting coastal communities

  • Group 32Data-Driven Deployment

    Using hot-spot mapping, tide and rainfall patterns, and post-storm assessments

  • Group 34Full Traceability

    From collection through sorting and verified end-of-life pathways

Bali Operations Spotlight

Bali is our flagship rapid response hub where we operate from three locations that work together as a single system. 

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Just how much is 42 million lbs of trash?

1,970,000,000 Water Bottles

You could cover Central Park 2x

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Annual Impact Opportunity

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Forecasted Removal Capacity

The Foundation is on track to remove 4.7 million pounds of plastic pollution per year through philanthropy and has created an immediate scale plan to pull much more.

How We Power Our Forecast

Projection modeled from our Bali pilot program results in early 2025 and current impact data across onshore, river interception, nearshore, and offshore operations

What this Means

Donor support translates directly into more crews on the ground and more days on the water, increasing the volume we can remove and the habitats we can protect

Your Support in Action

What We Measure

  • Pounds of plastic removed by location and operation type
  • Number of cleanup days, crew hours, and vessels deployed
  • River interception efficiency and rainy season surge response
  • Wildlife risk reduction indicators and hotspot remediation progress

Transparency You Can Trust

We publish verified impact data, location updates, and operation summaries so supporters can see when, where, and how their donations drive results. Each report links activity to outcomes, with photo and video documentation wherever possible.

Tiny Plastics.
Massive Danger. 

Every minute, plastics flood our ocean. Global plastic output has skyrocketed from 2 million tonnes in 1950 to 475 million tonnes in 2022 and is projected to nearly triple again by 2060. Already, more than 8 billion tonnes of plastic waste pollute our planet, with less than 10% ever recycled. Each discarded piece can fragment into millions of toxic microplastics that infiltrate marine life, disrupt ecosystems, and even enter our blood, lungs, and food.

Plastics are now recognized as a grave danger to human and planetary health, costing more than $1.5 trillion in health-related losses every year. By removing plastic from the ocean, rivers, and coastlines now, we prevent this dangerous breakdown, reduce toxic exposures, and protect everything we love about the ocean. The time to act isn’t tomorrow - it’s today.

The Lancet Countdown on health and plastics (August 3, 2025)

How Many Pieces Can One Plastic Bottle Become?

A single 500 mL water bottle (about 7 grams of plastic) can eventually break into:

  • Thousands of pieces if it only splits into millimeter-sized bits

  • Billions if it breaks down to tiny micron-sized fragments

  • Trillions if it erodes all the way into nanoplastics

In reality, bottles in the ocean fragment into a mix of sizes - so the true count skews high, creating billions or more harmful particles over time.

SUPPORT OUR MISSION TODAY

Ways To Get Involved

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Donate to expand crews and vessels across onshore, river booms, nearshore, and offshore programs

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Sponsor a specific geography or a specific operation type, to help accelerate our mission

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Philanthropic & corporate foundation collaborations that fund transformative seasonal surge operations during the rainy season. Join us today so we can do more!
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Your Support Makes A Difference

Together, we can create a world free from ocean plastic.

4ocean Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. (EIN 88-2694307) Donations and contributions are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Learn about other payment information.

 
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Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding the Mission, the Model, and How You Can Get Involved

ABOUT 4OCEAN

What is 4ocean?

WHAT 4OCEAN FOUNDATION DOES

What is 4ocean Foundation?

What kind of work does the Foundation fund?

WHAT 4OCEAN PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION (PBC) DOES

What is 4ocean PBC?

How does it fund cleanup?

OCEAN PLASTIC & CLEANUP

What is Ocean Plastic?

Ocean vs. Oceans: What’s the Difference?

Why collect plastic on land?

Where does 4ocean Foundation operate cleanups?

How is the plastic sorted and recycled?

What happens to plastic that can’t be recycled?

GET INVOLVED

How can I support the mission?

Contacts