Through our network of MBRC Cleaning Hubs, our team of 2,400 dedicated waste collectors and volunteers organize cleanups every day all over the world. From Iceland to Australia, Indonesia to Costa Rica, the MBRC cleaning hubs have a huge impact on the local environment and communities.

MBRC cleaning hub communities are provided with garbage bags and shown how to separate their household waste into organic, recyclable and non-recyclable waste directly at home and to dispose of the bags in the waste bins provided in central locations by MBRC. The bins are collected, emptied and cleaned on a regular basis by waste collectors employed by MBRC and the waste transferred to the main MBRC waste management facility.  

The communities are also provided with equipment to clean up, collect and recycle the waste found on the beaches and coastline. Every week MBRC organizes a cleanup event at each of the cleaning hubs, employing up to 100 waste collectors and welcoming volunteers, including children from the local schools. As with the domestic waste, whatever is found on the coastline is also brought to the main waste management facility. Regular briefings are held at cleanup events: by active involvement in cleaning their local beaches the locals gain a greater sense of responsibility and understanding of the plastic waste problem. 

Working together with local communities, MBRC implements a sustainable waste management system, ensuring that the plastic collected is cleaned, packed and transported to local recycling plants and that the recycled plastic re-enters the market. 

Recyclable material is collected at the main hub, where it is counted, compressed, baled, weighed, and prepared for transportation. The recyclable plastic, usually in the shape of bottles, packaging, containers and bags (a combination of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high-density polyethylene), LDPE (low-density polyethylene) and PP (polypropylene)) is transported to the closest certified recycling plant. The recyclate is washed and shredded before undergoing the mechanical recycling process during which it is melted and reformed into flakes, pellets or yarn.  

Raising awareness about waste, recycling and sustainability, MBRC has developed an educational program dedicated to helping those most impacted by ocean plastic understand its sources and discover the solutions. Only when we understand the problem can we hope to stop it. 

Workshops and presentations are held at local schools and community centres near the cleaning hubs for both children and adults so that they can understand the impact of plastic waste on the marine environment and on their lives. The waste collection, cleanup and recycling programmes run concurrently with lessons, information briefings and workshops held in the local schools. Local teachers are provided with educational material and resources to teach school children about the origins of plastic and the problems associated with single-use plastic, while exploring solutions to the ocean plastic problem. Workshops and presentations are also organized for adults and a briefing is held at each cleanup to inform the waste collectors and volunteers about the ocean plastic problem. 

EDEKA Struve
Germany

International Model
Indonesia

CEO STRÖER Media
Germany

Project Director Reefs
Maldives

MBRC Academy
Course Instructor
Germany

Ambassador
Tanzania