Meet OceanHero, a new search engine that has helped recover 23 million ocean-bound plastic bottles

The health of our oceans is at a tipping point with unprecedented plastic pollution and damage to marine life and ecosystems. Covering 71% of our planet and containing 96% of all of our water, the health of our oceans is intrinsically linked to our future.

Early this year, we wrote about Ekoru.org, a new search engine that helps clean and reforest our oceans. Ekoru.org is a new search engine that aims to help save our oceans by addressing two key problems, plastic pollution, and CO2 levels. The promise is simple. 60% of revenue goes to partners involved with ocean cleanup and ocean reforestation. That’s right, you read correctly. Reforestation. In the ocean.

However, Ekoru is not the only climate-focused search engine fighting to save our oceans. Another ocean protection startup and eco-friendly search engine is OceanHero. Since its inception, OceanHero has already funded a collection of more than 20 million ocean-bound plastic bottles. OceanHero is not just a search engine, it’s also a movement that inspires people to join the fight against ocean pollution. As of the time of writing, OceanHero has removed 23,200,271 ocean-bound plastic bottles.

OceanHero search engine users have helped recover 21 million ocean-bound plastic bottles from the comfort of their homes and offices. When web surfers add the ocean-protection search engine to their browser, they recover ocean-bound plastic with every search. “When you consider that 18 billion pounds of plastic waste enter our oceans every year, you realize that each of us has a responsibility to stem the tide,” said OceanHero founder Marvin Burman. “If humans don’t make major changes by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans.”

How OceanHero Works
Internet users add the OceanHero search engine to their browsers. When they conduct a search, open a new browser tab, or answer ocean-themed trivia questions, OceanHero pays partners to recover ocean-bound plastic.

OceanHero works with organizations that have created a global infrastructure of plastic collection hubs, built micro recycling plants, found innovative ways to repurpose plastic and provide pollution education. The funds come from unobtrusive ads displayed in the browser and search results, similar to what you see in any search engine. OceanHero does not track users’ search history or sell any personal information to third parties.

Turning Waste Plastic Into Bricks
OceanHero works with Trash Waste Solutions to reclaim ocean-bound plastic and turn it into bricks in Manado, Indonesia, an area that has suffered massively from plastic dumping. Burman noted, “Many communities have limited waste management systems. Recycling centers are often only available in larger cities. That’s why we started this pilot project in Indonesia. We’re creating micro recycling plants that transform plastic waste into building blocks. So instead of plastic destroying communities, it can rebuild them.”

Additional Global Ocean Protection Partnerships
OceanHero also partners with Plastic Bank, which has 32 branches in Haiti and the Philippines. Plastic Bank provides family-sustaining plastic collection jobs in under-developed communities then recycles the plastic waste into reusable products.

The search engine also supports Waste Free Oceans, an organization that improves recycling infrastructure throughout the world. Burman noted, “This work will help more than 700 species that are impacted by plastic entanglement and ingestion.”

A Beautiful and Educational Experience
When you add the OceanHero search engine to your browser, you can select ocean mode to see stunning oceanscape homepage backgrounds with every new tab that you open. You’ll also enjoy fun interactive elements. Burman said, “When people use our browser extension, we continuously engage them with messages and questions that highlight the importance of the marine ecosystems and what we can do about ocean pollution.”

There’s also a gamified element – digital shell collecting. They provide a concrete way for you to see how many ocean-bound plastic bottles you have helped to recover. Users earn shells when they open new tabs, perform searches, or answer Ocean trivia questions. For every hundred shells you collect, OceanHero can recover one plastic bottle. “By creating fun ways to engage people in the process, we can put a dent in the 10 million metric tons of plastic waste that enters the oceans each year. Every little bit helps,” said Burman.

Regardless of our ideologies, I think it’s safe to say that cleaning our oceans is good for our planet. Keeping our planet cleaner should unite us all.

About OceanHero
OceanHero is a search engine that helps you save the oceans from plastic pollution with every click. The social business partners with and funds nonprofit organizations to recover ocean-bound plastic, create recycling infrastructure, and provide pollution education. You can join the fight to clean and protect our oceans by using the OceanHero search engine at oceanhero.today.

Below is a video overview of how OceanHero works.